Weapon Plus: Project Ghost
by MrZ1289
Summary: In 2000, Weapon Plus was given full government funding by George W. Bush. In 2008, they found their perfect subject. Or so they thought.
1. The Oval Office

February 3, 2001-The Oval Office

10:04 P.M.

President George W. Bush was finishing his day's work in the office. He was ready to call in his immediate staff to have their closing meeting for the day when a knock startled him from his solidarity.

"Come on in," he stated in his casual Texan voice.

In walked his secretary, Rebecca Dunn, with a man dressed in a standard black suit. He wasn't old, but he was definitely seasoned. He looked as if he was probably about ten years older than he was. He took of his sunglasses and a quick look into the man's eyes told you everything. His left eye was either fake or blind. It had that usually look of emptiness of a blind person and the President figured that glass eyes would at least look real, so he assumed that he was blind in that eye.

The man stepped forward, extending his hand.

"Mr. President, I am Agent Franklin Collins, Assistant Director of the CIA. I have some very important business to discuss with you this evening." he said matter-of-factly.

The President was slightly discourage. He had been looking forward to a nice quiet evening. Instead, he knew he was going to be up for awhile.

"Please," he said with his hand outstretched. "Take a seat."

"Thank you." he said shortly.

"You are quite welcome. Can I get you anything? A drink? Maybe even a cigar?" President Bush asked politely.

"No thank you." Agent Collins said. "I'd rather do this quickly."

"That's fine by me. What brings you here today?" Bush said in reply.

"It is customary for the President of the United States to be briefed by the Central Intelligence Agency exactly two weeks after your inauguration. We can choose at that point to bring to your attention several files that you would never find if you looked for them."

"Why wouldn't I be able to find them?" Bush asked sharply.

"Because the CIA has another level of classified files that goes even beyond Top Secret. We call these files the Presidentially Confidential Files. That means that the only people that can get to them are you, me, and the Director of the CIA. No court order and no request form will get you these forms. It is in these files that we hold the most important state secrets. The JFK Assassination is one of at least fifty things in this list. Some of the stuff would make your hair fall out. Now, normally, you would have to come to us and request to get the forms and give us a _really _good reason why you needed them. But, once during your presidency, we bring certain files to you."

The President was in shock. He didn't realize that there were things that he wasn't allowed to ask, items that he wasn't allowed to obtain. It was with the utmost curiosity that he pushed forward.

"So, what do you have for me today?" he asked, trying to remain as unexcited as possible.

"Have you ever heard of Weapon Plus?" Collins asked.

"No, but I guess that means that you've done your job, doesn't it?" Bush said with a chuckle.

"Right. Well, then I can ask you this, have you ever heard of Captain America?" Collins asked calmly.

"Of course. Steve Rogers and all that. Member of the Avengers. American War Hero. Everybody loves him...Why?" Bush asked.

"Because he was the first successful product of Weapon Plus." Collins stated.

"Ok, so what is it?"

"In the 1940s, the general public was hardly aware of the existence of the species known as Homo Superior. Today, we call this people _mutants_."

"Mutants? Like those freaks from New York?" Bush exclaimed.

"Exactly like those freaks. In the 1940s, people had no idea that things were going to turn out as badly as they are now. That the Supreme Court would hold up mutant rights like they were normal. Weapon Plus is the government's response to try and counteract that. They take mutants and they use their abilities against the mutant population. Its very secret and very effective. But, in 1992, Clinton found out about it and cancelled their government funding. They've been able to stay most afloat without our help, but time is running out. We need to grant them their government funding again or soon, Mr. President, there won't be any of us left."

The President sat in awe. But, he already had a decision.

"Do it. When I leave office, I want it transferred entirely to you guys for three weeks. I can't risk my country's safety based on the threat of these monsters. Do you know if they have any planned targets."

Collins stood and made his way to the door. He slowly turned and said to the President: "Not yet, but mark my words, they'll get their man. We'll keep in touch."

With that, he made his way out the door.


	2. Weapon Plus

December 13, 2006

Weapon Plus Facility-Location Unknown

The board of directors at the main Weapon Plus Facility was entering the long board room for their weekly meeting. Each week, they would look down a long list of potential Weapon Plus candidates. Most of them were criminals, people that almost no one would miss if something went wrong. Also, most of them were mutants or people with some sort of superpower already. Long ago, they had decided that working with ordinary people was too taxing and cost too much money. Plus, these people were often hiding from the general public so that very few people were aware of their was the whole point of their operation. They were trying to bring down the mutants, as quietly and quickly as they good.

Each board member was required to bring one candidate for approval. They didn't necessarily have to be a criminal, although it did make things easier. Looking around the room there was Assistant Director of the CIA Franklin Collins, Three Star General Glenn Talbot, Dr. Steven Mower, Senator Robert Kelly, and the man who ran the operation, Malcolm Colcord.

Very rarely did anyone actually see Colcord. Today and most days, he simply called in from his office, of which the location was not know to any of the other board members. Only when he presented his candidate did he actually speak.

"Alright everyone, let's get to business," General Talbot said.

The meetings were run by Gen. Talbot. Talbot was a young and aggressive man who had used his family's wealth and power to spring his way into greater power. He had never seen the battlefield and was routinely criticized by his peers for his command tactics. Talbot, however, did have one interest: superhumans. Long ago, he had shared a common love interest with a man with seemingly unlimited power: Bruce Banner, otherwise known as the Hulk. Once he saw Banner transform for the first time, he longed to harness that power and sell it to the highest bidder.

"Dr. Mower, would you please present your candidate to us?" Talbot said.

"Of course, General." Mower said, rising from his seat.

Mower was the only member of the board with no military experience. He had a PhD from Princeton Medical College in Biogenetics and Mutations. He was the foremost expert in why mutants were the way they were. He was also secretly a Neo-Nazi who held a strong belief that if you weren't white and Christian then you deserved to die. But, he reserved his most deep seeded hatred for mutants.

At a young age, a mutant with the ability to project images into the mind of others attacked him after Mower shot the mutant's younger brother for beating him in basketball earlier in the day. The younger brother had the ability to project a pheromone that made him attractive to anyone and almost no one could reject him. He had accidentally convinced Mower's girlfriend to break up with him.

Mower, in his rage, had gone home and found his father's loaded .45 caliber handgun. Then, he ran down the street to where the mutants lived. He barged in the front door, searching for the younger brother. He had found him in his room, reading a book. He promptly unloaded the gun into the forehead of the young boy. His older brother heard the sound on his way home and ran the rest of the way.

When he got there, he found Mower, pounding into the flesh of his dead brother. In the heat of the moment, the older brother began to project the most awful images into his head. Among the images were pictures of his mother hanging from a tree, his father killing himself with a shotgun, an unknown stranger raping his young sister, and the list went on and on and on. For almost an hour, the brother tortured Mower, making him see images that would make the worst kind of criminal uncomfortable.

Finally, the brother let him go and Mower ran out of the house. The next day, members of an unknown government agency came and took the brother, claiming that he was mentally ill as evidenced by him killing his brother. The organization was Weapon X, the precursor to Weapon Plus. They planted fake evidence suggesting the brother, and not Mower, had killed the younger brother. The boy was taken and Mower never saw him again.

It was on that day that his hatred of mutants exploded. He went to medical school with the sole purpose of becoming the research scientist who discovered how to destroy the mutant gene. He wasn't even asked to join Weapon Plus, he requested it, becoming the first doctor to request work with Weapon Plus.

Mower walked around to the end of the table and put himself in front of everyone, ready to begin his presentation.

"Malcolm Howard Hughes." he said as he passed around copies of the files he was presenting.

"Born: 12-11-87. Charlotte, North Carolina. Arrested four times: Three for Armed Robbery, One for Attempted Murder. Currently spending time in Butner Federal Correctional Complex near Capitol Hill." he said listing off his basics.

"Hughes has the ability to disassemble himself on the molecular level, turning himself basically into smoke or vapor in the process. Currently, I haven't been able to find any limits on his power or whether or not he applies to the same rules as regular vapor or smoke would. He can control himself in this form for short periods of time. However, after awhile, he will lose control of this ability and reassemble himself no matter where he is at. Typical infiltrator type. Any questions?"

"Yes," Senator Kelly said. "You said that he would reassemble anywhere, so what you're saying is that if he was in the middle of a vent and lost control, he would reassemble with a vent in his stomach?"

"Unfortunately yes," Mower said. "Although this is due to him not being able to control his powers, we believe that we will be able to help him control them better. Any others?"

He looked around and saw nothing else.

"Alright, then, I say we move to a vote for my candidate. Those in favor?"

Everyone in the room raised their hand. Colcord only had to vote if there was a tie.

"Alright, we'll get her transferred here at once." Mower said as he reclaimed his seat.

"Agent Collins, would you please present your candidate?" Gen. Talbot motioned.

"I would rather go last this time, General." Collins said shortly.

"Alright. Senator Kelly, I believe it is your turn." Talbot said.

"General, it is your turn to go. Just because you run the damn meeting doesn't mean that you get to go last every single time." Kelly said shortly.

Suddenly, Colcord spoke: _"Do you wish to go last, General Talbot, because you have not found someone?"_

"No..." Talbot said in a suddenly weaker voice.

_"You do not __outrank anyone here, Talbot. All four of you report to me. I only let you run the meetings because you can't seem to keep your mouth shut otherwise. So, General, you have approximately ten seconds to begin your presentation before I call in the guards and let them drag you away."_

Immediately, Talbot stood and began to speak.

"Danielle Gayle Stockwell. Born 2-10-90. Currently attends John F. Kennedy High School in Denver, Colorado."

Kelly snickered. "Your candidate is a high schooler? I vote to dismiss candidate based on how impossible it would be to take this student and have almost no one notice."

"Seconded." Dr. Mower said.

_"Gentlemen, we will not be dismissing this candidate. Continue, General."_

"She almost never is seen with anyone. She has no parents. Killed in a car accident when she was three. She spends almost no time at the foster home she lives at. Her foster parents don't remember the last time they'd seen her. She would be very easy to take."

"Alright, what are her powers?" Agent Collins asked.

"She has the ability to transform into any animal she touches." General Talbot said quickly.

"Really?" Senator Kelly said. "No matter the size?"

"No matter the size. My team have witnessed her transforming into a kodiak bear and a gorilla within the last six months."

"How did she get in the vicinity of a bear?" Dr. Mower asked.

"She volunteers at a natural life preserve every once in awhile. The last time was four months ago. Any other questions?"

No one moved.

"Seeing none, all in favor?"

Everyone raised their hand quickly.

"Thank you. Who's next?"

"Well, since Collins said he wanted to go last, I guess that I'll have to go next," Senator Kelly said.

"Clinton Webb. Born 9-11-89. Boston, MA. Just graduated from George Washington Carver High School. Arrested once for sexual assault. Currently spending time in Limestone Correctional Facility."

Kelly paced around the room before continuing his speech.

"Has an accelerated healing factor. He can heal from gunshot wounds in a matter of minutes and bladed wounds in seconds. I've consulted the doctors and we think that he would be a prime candidate for a procedure known as adamant-"

_"Forget it," _Colcord said over the phone.

"Why?" Kelly asked quickly.

_"Ever heard of the Weapon X? Not just the program, but the individual project. He was perfect, but the guys that worked there didn't trust him and wanted to terminate him. He found out. The subject also had claws made of bone, which we had covered in adamantium as well. Needless to say, he got out. First one to get out. As a result, I will NEVER do Adamantium bonding again. So forget it."_

"Alright. Collins, I guess you're up."

Agent Collins slowly stood for his chair and made his way to where Senator Kelly had been moments before.

"Gentlemen, I believe I have found the next mutant weapon for us."

Suddenly, a project that hadn't been used by any of the other men turned on. It showed a man running through an Army obstacle course. On his way to the end, he completed every single obstacle perfectly. His shooting was incredible. He often fired shots at targets that weren't even active yet. They would hit moments after the targets turned on.

"Everyone, this is Lance Hall. Lance, here, enlisted in the United States Army in June. By September, they made him a Sergeant and a full United States Army Ranger, the fastest promotion to Ranger in recent history. He is currently based in Kabul, Afghanistan. His superiors say that he is the best soldier they've ever seen. He seems to know where every target will be before it gets there."

"Does he have some sort of precognitive ability?" Senator Kelly asked.

"Not quite," Collins replied. "But don't rush me, I'm getting there. His commanding officer says that when he shoots at the firing range, he often destroys the targets themselves rather than firing at the targets. That's because Lance has the ability to instinctively locate a person or object's weak spots and target those."

"What do you mean?" Dr. Mower asked.

"When he fights at close range, he can see former broken bones, weak joints, anything that could lead to injury or end a fight he shoots at someone, he can immediately see flaws in their stance or armor. Also, his head is a working computer strategist."

"Like what kind of strategist? A human relations one or a battle strategist?" General Talbot replied.

"A battle strategist. The reason he seems to know where everything is at is because when he looks at a situation, his brain will look at the thousands of possibilities and come out with the one that makes the most sense for the situation. So, he seems to know where everyone is at at all times. Because of this, he can never be sneaked up on or surprised. At least not by a target. Finally, we've tested his blood for possible secondary mutations and something very interesting came up. His mutant ability seems to have the ability to absorb other's into it. So, if we inject him with the blood of someone with a healing factor, he could slowly develop a healing factor. We could literally transform him into a soldier with perfect shot, perfect strategy and the ability to heal from almost anything."

Silence overtook the room as they all thought about this. Could they really create someone who could kill Weapon X? That had always been the goal of Weapon Plus, but so much of their research had been lost when Weapon X had escaped.

_"I have a question." _Colcord said suddenly. _"If he is in the Army, how do we get ahold of him?"_

"Very simple, sir. General Talbot here is the commanding general of his unit. We simply getting him transferred to black ops, but we give him equipment that will open work for a short period of time. To the United States Army, he has cut off communication from us, a clear violation of orders. With that, he could then be considered a traitor, if he is found to be alive, and could be tried for treason for everything that he did after the transmission was cut. So, all we have to do is make sure we send him to an active terrorist cell that we know is going to do something and then we try him for treason. Because he's a mutant when he's found guilty, they will send him to the Vault, where you have access as director of Weapon Plus. From there, you convince him to join us here at Weapon Plus."

_"And how won't he get killed?" _Colcord replied. _"We're sending an American soldier into an active terrorist cell and we don't think he's going to get discovered?"_

"No, I don't. This guy is the best. I don't think they would have a chance at killing him. Also, couldn't we just call him back eventually? I'm the Assistant Director of the CIA. I plant evidence all the time. This wouldn't be any different."

_"Very well. Do it." _Colcord said coldly.

"Sir, it's already done. He'll be sent the first of the New Year."

"_Good."_


	3. An American Trial

United States Supreme Court Building

June 19, 2008

Cases of treason are rare, I heard. In the entire history of the United States of America, there had only been thirty cases of treason tried. Well, better make that thirty-one. Today marked the beginning of my own trial. Today, I am being tried for treason. Normally, I would have spent months in prison before my trial would have been heard. Lucky for me, the United States government decided it wanted to make an example of soldiers who were accused of betraying their country. So, even though I had only been "arrested" in December, they were going to try me now, only six months afterward.

Cases heard directly by the Supreme Court were rare. Just like normal, they required a unanimous vote. However, these were nine random people from the streets. These were the United State's finest judges. They had studied laws over and over again. Their rule was absolute. If they said you were guilty, chances were that you were. You didn't want that. I certainly don't want that.

My council is a woman by the name of Jennifer Walters. She was incredibly intelligent and was also exceptionally honest. During our "training sessions", she once told me that it is better for me to be honest with everyone. Don't hide anything. Even if you think it may get you in trouble, let it out. You never know how something is going to sound to the general public. So, just say it.

Yeah, easier said than done, sister. You aren't the one facing life in prison if you're convicted. You still to go home and watch Bugs Bunny. I have to go and deal with the fact that I'm still in a cell for something I didn't do.

I sometimes wonder if this is because I'm a mutant. I am nearly positive that the military had to know. Could this be why I'm in this mess? Trust me, I would give up being a good soldier to not be a convicted felon and a traitor to his country.

"All rise. The Honorable, the Chief Justice and the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States." the man at the front of the room said.

Everyone in the room rose to their feet. Quietly, nine of the gravest men and women entered the hall. Again, the man at the front spoke.

"Oyez, oyez, oyez: All persons having business before the Honorable, the Supreme Court of the United States, are admonished to draw near and give their attention, for the Court is now sitting. God save the United States and this honorable Court."

I had no idea what it meant. I just know that it scared the shit out of me. I was never the best at history or current politics or any of that crap. Math was always my strong suit in school. As a result, I had no clue what any of the names were of the Justices. Hell, I was glad I still remembered my own name.

"Lance Donavon Hall, you are brought before this, the Supreme Court of these United States of America, on charges of treason. You have plead not guilty. Do you still maintain your stance?" said the man in the middle of the nine.

It took me a second to find my voice.

"I do, Your Honor."

"With that, each side shall be given two minutes to speak to the court before we begin. The prosecution shall go first." he said.

The man acting as the prosecution stood. "Well shall pass, Your Honor."

"So noted. The defense may now go."

Jennifer stood and made her way around our table and placed herself in the middle of the nine Supreme Court Justices.

"Most venerable Justices of this Court, the man sitting before you is a patriot." she began shortly. Then, she began to pace.

"He enlisted in the United States Army as his 18th birthday present to himself. Since his tenth birthday, the only thing he has ever wanted to be is a United States Army Ranger. And he got his wish. Less than four months after his basic training, he was sent to Afghanistan and promptly began training to become a Ranger. His commanding officers have said that he is the single best soldier they'd ever seen. He was so good in fact, that he was asked by his superiors to take on a Black Ops mission infiltrating an active terrorist cell in southern Afghanistan. The intelligence that we learned from this man alone turned the tide of the War on Terror. Less than a month ago, we were able to act upon information given to the Armed Forces by formerly Lt. Hall. In less than a month, we are looking at complete withdrawal from Afghanistan, Irag, and other locations in the Middle East."

She continued to pace until she came to the center of the court.

"While under orders from the United States Army and the Central Intelligence Agency, Lt. Hall attacked a United States Army Base."

Silence overtook the room. No one even dared to breath.

"He did this in order maintain his cover as an operative for the terrorist cell he was investigating. Now, this man sits her, chained to a table, accused of betraying the country he loves the most. This. Is. Wrong."

With that, she turned and made her way to the table where Lance sat. Lance leaned over to her as she sat.

"Thanks. I hope you meant all of that."

"I meant every word of it, Lance." she replied without a smile.

"The United States Constitution is clear. In order to convict a person of treason, there must be two or more witnesses to the actions. I ask the prosecution, how many witnesses do you have?"

The prosecutor stood again. "In all, there were over 75 servicemen and women who witnessed former Lt. Hall attack Forward Operating Base Rhino."

"How many are here to testify?" the Justice asked.

"Today, Your Honor, we have brought three."

"Very well, call your first witness."

"The prosecution calls Lt. Col. Jonathon Cantel."

A man dressed in military dress attire came up from the back of the crowded court room. He stepped up onto the podium where he would give his testimony and placed his right hand in the air. Not once did he look in my direction and I'm glad he didn't. I could already see the look of disappointment in his face and I don't think I could handle it if his eyes met mine.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"

"I do."

Col. Cantel took his seat and the Prosecutor stepped forward.

"Good morning, Colonel."

"Good morning."

"Do you know this man here?" the prosecutor said, waiving his arm in my direction.

"I do."

"How do you know him?"

For the first time, Jon looked at me. To me, he wasn't Lt. Colonel Jonathon Cantel. He was Jon. A man I looked up to more than my father.

"I trained him."

"What do you mean, Colonel?" the prosecutor said, curiously.

"When he was recruited to become an Army Ranger, I was still a Major. He came in to the last unit I trained before my promotion." he said softly.

"And how would you describe Mr. Hall as a soldier?" the prosecutor said.

The use of the word "Mister" before my name hurt. For so long, it had been private or sergeant or lieutenant. It was a sign of respect. Of something better. Now, I was just like everyone else.

"Lieutenant Hall was the best soldier I ever trained."

"Really? That good." the prosecutor replied.

"Definitely. His sense of leadership and brotherhood made him a natural leader and his skills as a fighter and a warrior were unmatched by anyone that I ever saw, myself included." Col. Cantel replied.

"Ok. So, how was he as a person?"

"Lt. Hall was like a son to me. We kept in constant contact and talked to each other almost weekly. It was my suggestion that got him the Black Ops Mission." Col. Cantel said proudly.

"Very appropriate that you say that. What kind of patriot was Mr. Hall?"

"The best. I never met a man who was prouder to be an American."

"And yet, he betrayed his country?"

"OBJECTION!" Jennifer yelled next to me.

"Sustained." the head Justice replied.

"My apologies. What were the details of Mr. Hall's Black Ops Mission?"

"That is strictly classified." Col. Cantel said quickly.

"Of course. So, without giving any information away, what was he supposed to do?" the prosecutor quipped.

"He was supposed to infiltrate a local terrorist cell, retrieve specific information, and get out."

"So, he wasn't supposed to attack anything?"

"OBJECTION!" Jennifer yelled again.

"Overruled. Answer the question, Colonel." the Chief Justice replied.

"He was supposed to maintain his cover. That was never specified."

"But, I would wager that his superiors would have thought to break cover before attacking his own military base?" the prosecutor jousted.

"Most likely."

"Thank you, Colonel. Your witness." he said as he walked back to his seat.

Jennifer stood and quickly made her way towards Col. Cantel.

"Do you think Lt. Hall committed treason?"

"OBJECTION!" the prosecutor hollered.

"SUSTAINED! Watch yourself, Miss Walters." the Chief Justice said.

"I'm sorry. I'll rephrase. Colonel Cantel, do you believe that Lt. Hall went outside of his orders by attacking the base?"

"No. I do not." the Colonel replied.

"Thank you."

With that, Jennifer came back to take her place next to me. Quickly, I leaned over to her.

"Thanks for going easy on him." I said in a hushed voice.

"I didn't do it for you. He didn't have much to give us."

"Ok, well, thanks anyway." I replied with a smirk.

The Justices at the front had a short conversation and then asked the prosecutor for his next witness.

"The prosecution calls forward Lieutenant Maximillion Franklin Long."

They were getting closer. I knew at this point who their last witness would be and I wasn't sure I could bear it. Max had been part of my basic training class and had come to the Rangers five months after I had. He was one of my best friends. Now, he was testifying against me. Quietly, Max took his oath and sat down.

The prosecutor stepped forward.

"Good morning, Lt. Long."

Max just sat there. Good ole Max.

"Before we start, do you have anything to edit about what Col. Cantel said about Mr. Hall?"

"No." Max said shortly.

"Ok, then we will not ask you to rehash that in the hope of making this as brief as possible. Can you describe to me the actions of Mr. Hall on September 11, 2007?"

"I saw Lance coming in with a group of unidentified vehicles at sometime around 0400 hrs. They picked a good time to attack. Low number of people awake. Usually only guards and some administration. I was working the guard tower that night. Using my specs, I saw Lance on the back of one of the vehicles. He was the only one who didn't have a bomb attached to him, so I assumed that he was coming back to us. Then, I saw him get off the back and shoot three of the guards that were down the floor level. I instantly ran down the stairs to the ground floor. When I got there, all three of them were dead."

"Did you personally witness any other acts of treason by Mr. Hall?"

Max burst into tears. For what seemed like hours, he just sat there, crying. Finally, he collected himself so he could speak.

"I saw him shoot my older brother."

For an eternity, no one spoke. The only person who dared move was the prosecutor.

"Can you elaborate, Lieutenant?"

"I was following him and the small group he was traveling in. I don't think they knew I was there, but they were traveling fast, so I could never seem to catch up with them. However, I turned and took a short-cut and managed to catch up with them. The moment I did, my brother popped around the corner. Lance just raised his rifle and shot him in the head like it was nothing. Nick and Lance played basketball against each other all the time. They were best friends. I couldn't believe it. I just stopped there."

"That's all you saw of Mr. Hall that morning?" the prosecutor asked.

"Yes."

"Thank you. Your witness, Miss Walters."

"No response."

The Chief Justice took notes for a brief period and then motioned for the last witness.

"The Prosecution calls Private Clark Bruce Hall."

A young man, barely out of high school, walked up the aisle to the stand. He walked with a cane and noticeably put a lot of support on it. I couldn't even look as he made his oath. When I did look, I hated what I saw. Angry, red eyes aimed right at me. He had every reason to be angry.

"Good morning, Private Hall."

"Good morning, Sir."

"What is your relation to the defendant?" the prosecutor asked.

"He's my older brother." Clark said shortly.

"And how did you come to need the use of a cane?"

"My brother." Clark answered. I expected tears and then I realized I would never get them. Not from Clark. He had probably cried some on his own. But, he would never cry in front me. NEVER. No matter what I did to him, he would never want to look weak in front of me.

"Can you elaborate, Private?"

"That morning, I was coming out of the bathroom when my brother, who I hadn't seen in seven months, came around the corner with a rifle in his hand. For a second, I thought he was going to shoot me. He looked at me and then gave me a hug. Suddenly, one of the men behind him shouted something at him in a different language. A language he obviously understood as he responded in it. Then, he looked back at me and simply said 'You'll understand someday.' Then he shot me in the knee. When I had heard what he had done, I couldn't believe it. But, I had proof of it. I had to have my left leg amputated from the knee down. For the rest of my life, I will carry around a constant reminder that my brother who I looked up to so much, who I wanted to be, was a traitor."

I couldn't stop crying. I tried to cry out to him, to tell him how sorry I was. But, I couldn't. Since I had entered the courtroom that morning, I hadn't looked back. I had never considered that my family was back there. Who would they be supporting? Surely they didn't want me to go to prison. Did they? I finally turned to see the small but condensed crowd back there. It took me a couple minutes but I found them. It was just my mother and my father and my brother. All of them were looking right at me. I couldn't bear the look in their eyes. It was a combination of hatred, love, anger, disappointment, and about a thousand other things.

After a brief discussion, the Chief Justice stood.

"We have decided that we will end the session for today, to allow everyone to recover from today's testimony. In cases of treason, the defense is allowed one witness and the accused themselves. So, we will reconvene on Monday at noon. Thank you all for attending."

Suddenly, there were three incredibly armed guards surrounding me. They hoisted me up and re-cuffed my feet. Suddenly, as they lead me out, someone yelled something from the back.

"He's a mutant too!"

I looked to see my brother, yelling and fighting back against the guards at the door. Quickly, he grabbed one of their guns and tried to make his way towards me. Even with one leg, my young brother was big and very strong. Three different guards attempted to slow him down but he simply ran them over. Clark got free of the crowd and made his way towards me and my guards. As he got close enough, he raised the handgun he had taken from the guard.

"You're a freak! I hate you! I hate what you did to our family! I hate what you did to our country! But, most of all, I hate what you did to ME! You sicken me. There's nothing worse than a mutie. What are you gonna do, Lance? Break out of prison and join those freak X-Men? It doesn't matter, because you'll never be like me. You'll never be as good as me. I hope you remember that."

Then without warning, he lifted the gun to his temple and pulled the trigger. If this had been a normal courtroom, it would have been a simple 9mm standard-issue glock. However, because this was a military case and the Supreme Court, it was a Desert Eagle. A Desert Eagle has almost three times the firing power of a 9mm. So, instead of simply putting a small hole in his head, his head exploded.

Blood and guts and bone flew everywhere as the crowd screamed. His body fell swiftly to the ground as blood poured everywhere. The guards that were assigned to protect me pulled me from the room. As they did, one of them leaned in to speak to me.

"You don't deserve to see that," he said. "I would have done the same thing."

The truth of this shocked me. I looked back at him.

"Yeah, well look where it got me."


	4. Malcolm Colcord

Prison is hell. That's all there is to it.

Unknown Federal Holding Cell

June 22, 2008  


Because I was held on charges of treason, I didn't get any bail. As a result, I've spent the rest of my time here, in this tiny, smelly cell. It's awful. When I walk out of my cell, I am the most hated man here. Some of these men have killed their children, others cheated on their taxes, and others still have raped innocent women. But, for the majority of the population, they are still American.

Which means that the man who is on trial for treason is Public Enemy No. 1.

Lucky, I'm a human weapon. But my first few days here were hell. I was attacked by more inmates than I could count. Now, none of them were able to hurt me, but after the third attack each day, the guards were required to put me back in my cell. They said it was for my own protection. I think it's bullshit. They can't throw me in solitary because I'm still technically holding even though I've been convicted by every major news source in the world, so they put me back here. Personally, I think they just don't want me to kill an inmate.

I spend most of my days reading and working out. It's not like I can do much else. On the days that I actually manage to make it to yard time, I play basketball with some of the guys from E Block. Those are the guys that are here for the rest of their lives, because they'll end here.

You learn a lot from a death row inmate. I learned that even fifteen years ago they wouldn't have even been allowed outside of the building, let alone in the yard. My favorite was a guy named Stretch. He had to have been nearly seven feet tall. His hands and his feet were the biggest things I had ever seen in my entire life. But, he only weighed about two hundred pounds. So, he got pushed around a lot. I thought he was cool. Funny guy. I asked him once what he did to get to E Block. I'll never forget his reply.

"Son, what I did would make an Army Ranger cry."

Little did he know.

Since I was still in holding I was allowed visitors on the weekend, not like anyone ever visited me. Especially after the first part of the trial. I had sent a letter asking my parents to videotape Clark's funeral. Never heard a word. I don't think that I will ever hear from them again. Not like I blame them. I shot my own brother and drove him to suicide, while I was in prison on charges of treason.

I hope they forgive me. I really do. But I don't expect them to.

Anyway, like I said, I never got any visitors, which is why I was surprised when one of the guards came and told me that I had a visitor waiting for me. Strange.

As I made my way down, I thought to myself. _Who could it be?_

When I got down to the visitation room, I looked around. There wasn't anyone to be seen. Now, I know a joker when I see one and these guards didn't have a funny bone in them. Then, I heard a sharp voice.

_"Sit down."_

"Excuse me?" I said quickly.

_"I said sit down, Lieutenant Hall." the voice said again._

As I took my seat, my curiosity got the better of me.

"Who are you and where are you?"

_"Where I am in none of your concern. But, I can give you my name. My name is Malcolm Colcord." the voice said officially._

"Ok. Am I supposed to know who that is?" I asked, letting my sarcastic nature slip out in the process.

_"No. Not at all. I just have a message for you."_

"Ok, Mr. Mystery, what is it?" again letting sarcasm flood into my voice.

_"No matter what you say on that stand on Monday, you will end up here for the rest of your life."_

I was shocked. In my short lifetime, I had never heard worse news. But, my question was:

"How do you know that?"

_"I have friends in powerful places, Lt. Hall. Very powerful places. My sources inform that eight of the nine Justices already believe that you committed treason, regardless of your reason. The lone Justice who remains is the one who usually takes the longest to decide. He also decides with the majority faction 93.4% of the time."_

"Well, excuse me, Mr. Colcord, but I don't believe you." I said confidently.

_"It doesn't matter whether or not you believe me. It will happen and you will be sent to the Vault for the rest of your life." he said menacingly._

"The Vault? That prison for super-humans? Why would I be sent there?"

_"Because of that little bit of information your brother spat out on Thursday. The Attorney General is very concerned. He wants to make sure that you don't have the ability to break out of any normal prison. So, he will send you to the Vault."_

"Well, that's really bad news. But I've known since they caught me that morning that the chances of me getting off were small. So, Malcolm, why did you waste all of your time to come out and see me squirm?" I asked defiantly.

_"I can change all of this."_

"Excuse me?"

_"Unfortunately, I cannot get the charges against you dropped. You are going to the Vault either way. However, how long you stay there remains to be seen. I operate a small clandestine government operation known as Weapon Plus. In this program, we use mutants to help retain world security. We operate complete under the radar of national operations. No one would ever admit we exist. However, we do very important work. We take mutants and, through our research, give them the tools they need to control their powers. Now, you appear to be in great control of your ability to locate weakness. I ask you, Lt. Hall, have you seen the way out of here?"_

"Out of the prison? Yeah. There's loads of different ways I could have gotten out." I said quickly.

_"Then why not get out?"_

"Because I believe in the American system. I know that if things go the way they should, I will get out."

_"And yet you said that you saw very little chance of that actually happening? I will tell you something. We at Weapon X have known about you for nearly two years now. It was us who initiated your mission. We who gave you the faulty equipment. And we manipulated the leaders of the cell you infiltrated to attack FOB Rhino. For two years, we've been doing everything in our power to get ahold of you. We believe that your ability is the best for creating our own Super Soldier. Imagine what you could do if you couldn't take any damage. Now you would still feel it, but the second a bullet went through you, it would heal right back up. You would be a Perfect Soldier. No one could stop you."_

"Are you asking me to join your little operation?" I said with contempt.

_"Yes, I am. Lt. Hall, if you join me today, we'll say that you were killed in a prison riot and that it was later discovered that you were being controlled by some currently unknown entity when you attacked that U.S. base. It will be as if it never happened. You'll get an honorable funeral from the Army and a Purple Heart to go with it, along with a Medal of Valor. However, if you don't join me today, you will be convicted of treason by the United States Supreme Court, you will receive a Dishonorable Discharge from the Army, and you will go to the Vault. Oh and did I mention that Weapon Plus controls the Vault? Well, we do. So, during your time there you will be maimed and tortured and burned and stabbed and shot until one of two things happen: You join Weapon Plus or you die. If you die, I don't care. I really don't. But, I would really love to join up with you and help you take your powers to the next level. Now, Lieutenant Hall, what do you say?"_

I slowly stood and paced around the room for a bit. Then, I turned towards the door, but before I left, I replied to his question.

"Shove it up your ass, Colcord. I'm no test dummy."

_"Ha, not yet you aren't. Not yet."_


	5. Conviction

June 23, 2008

Unknown Federal Holding Cell

* * *

I'm ready for this to be over. Things are just getting too hard for me. Is it too much to know what's going to happen to me soon?

At 5 AM, the guard came to my cell to let me know that I was supposed to be down in the mess hall. As I made my way down there, the small population of the prison that was awake began to applaud. At first, I thought they were taunting me. Then, the guard spoke up.

"They're supporting you." he said shortly.

"Why? I don't even support me and they haven't been to kind to me during my time here." I replied.

"They think you're guilty but they hope you aren't. They know how much they hate spending time here and so they hope that no one else has to be here." he replied.

"Wow. That's kind of cool. Have I seen you before?" I asked quickly.

"I'm guessing you mean other than here?" he said sarcastically.

"Yeah."

"My name is Marc Spector. I used to be a Navy SEAL but I turned down my commission at the beginning of last year. I was in your Black Ops training group." he said quickly.

"Ah, I thought you looked familiar." I said.

"Yeah, well, have a good day." he said as we arrived in the mess hall. Jen was already seated at one of the large tables. I was handcuffed to the table by Office Spector and instructed to eat quickly so we could make our way to D.C.

For a couple minutes things were pretty quiet. Then, Jen spoke up.

"I don't want you on the stand today," she said quietly.

"I said this wasn't up for debate. I know that you aren't a pro bono lawyer, Jen. You've been telling me that from day one, but I can tell it isn't true. You're getting paid to defend me and you probably don't want to be fired either. So, I'm taking the stand today." I said sharply.

"Ok...._boy, he isn't going to be happy about this,"_ she said under her breath.

"Who won't, Jen?"

"The man who hired me." she replied.

"What's his name?" I demanded.

"His name is Charles Xavier." she returned.

"Xavier, huh? Who is he?"

"He's the headmaster of the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters in Rochester, NY. He hired me so I could get you off the charges, so that you could work for him." she said.

"Work for him? At a school? I'm no teacher. Is there something I'm missing?"

"Yeah, it's a school for mutants." she said calmly.

I sat in silence for a couple minutes. My thoughts consumed me. This guy, Xavier, wanted me to teach at a school mutants. But, how could he have known? I hadn't told anyone what I was. I didn't even really know if I was. The fact that my brother had known was confusing enough. Maybe I had told him during one of our drunk escapades on the base. Suddenly, a guard appeared and motioned for us to wrap it up.

"It doesn't matter." she said quickly. "What matters is that if you take the stand today, the prosecutor will crucify you and then I have to figure out a way to get you out of the death penalty which will be almost impossible. Please, don't take the stand."

I stood up and was in the process of having my hands and legs re-cuffed when I turned to her: "I'm taking the fucking stand. Do your job from there."

* * *

**United States Supreme Court Building**

The same set-up as the previous session was in effect. Almost everyone was in the exact same spot. I did notice a difference in the attendance. Namely I noticed who wasn't in attendance. My parents. I hadn't expected them to show but they had always been so supportive of me in the past. I had thought that maybe that would continue now.

I was wrong.

After all the usual ceremonial bullshit, we got to work.

"Just like the previous session, each side will be given the opportunity to address the court. You are to keep your speech solely on the testimony that has been heard before this court. The Defense is given the opportunity to go first. Miss Walters?" the Chief Justice said aloud.

Without even looking up from her notes, Jen simply said: "We'll pass, Your Honor."

"Very well," he said. "And the Prosecution?"

"We will address the court." he said calmly.

"The floor is yours." the Chief Justice replied.

The prosecutor slowly rose out of his chair and stepped in front of the table he had sat at. He buttoned his jacket and stared at the floor, almost as if praying. And then, without warning, he began.

"This man is a war hero." he said confidently.

Everyone in the room was shocked. What kind of angle could he possibly be taking?

"He is. The man has a Medal of Honor and a Purple Heart for various missions served before his Black Ops mission. As Miss Walters has said previously, the information this man obtained from the terrorist cell he infiltrated cut the War on Terror down to days, not weeks or months or even years. By all normal counts, we should be congratulating this man for saving our country."

With that, he turned and mockingly applauded toward our table. My blood was just starting to boil. Then, he turned back to the Justices, his mock enthusiasm replaced with a cold, hard sneer.

"This man is a murderer. He'll come up here on the stand today and tell you that he did it in the name of his country or in the name of his mission or something bull story like that. All that being said, nothing gives him the right to attack his own people, regardless of his mission. We deserve to see this man have a needle shoved into his arm. That is what we seek today."

He paced around the room for a second with a triumphant look, then started up again.

"Woodrow Wilson said that World War One was fought to make the world safe for democracy. But, how do we make it safe from ourselves? By putting men like Lance Hall to death. That's how we protect ourselves."

He then turned and walked simply to his seat, a smug look on his face.

"Thank you. Miss Walters, you say that you have one witness and the defendant?" the Chief Justice said.

"Yes." she said.

"Please present your witness." he said.

"The Defense calls Charles Arthur Hall to the stand."

My mind was racing. There was no way I could have missed him. I turned to see that I hadn't. Upon his name being called, he had walked in from the lobby area outside of this chamber. He calmly made his way towards the stand and made his oath. He had been crying. I could see it in his eyes. I had never seen him cry, not once.

Jen walked up to him and began.

"Good morning, Charles."

"Good morning, Miss Walters." he replied politely.

"For those of us that don't know, can you please give us your full title?" she asked.

"My full title is Retired Lieutenant General Charles Arthur Hall."

"You are a decorated war hero?" she asked again.

"I guess you could say so." he replied, a small smile showing on his face.

"Could you give us a list of awards won?"

"Two different Medal of Honor, The Army Distinguished Service Cross, I was a commander in a unit that won the Army and Air Force Presidential Unit Citation. I have also received a Prisoner of War medal and a Defense Meritorious Service Medal. I have service medals from Vietnam, Southwest Asia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia." he said.

"You say you were a Prisoner of War?" she asked.

"Yes." he replied, looking away.

"Where at?" she pressed.

"Vietnam," he replied without looking up.

"Your Honor, what does this have to do with the situation at hand?" the Prosecutor yelled from his seat.

"I would have to agree with the Prosecution. Where is this going?" the Chief Justice asked.

"General Hall is a character witness for Mr. Hall. He is here to testify to his time in the military and his observations of his son and his mental state." Jen replied quickly.

"Your Honor, we appreciate the time this man has put in defending our country. But he was not present at the time of the attacks and he's no psychologist. Why should he be allowed to comment on his son's mental state?" the Prosecutor complained.

"Because he's his father. If there is anyone that would notice a difference in his son's patterns of life, it would be him." she said.

"I'll allow it, but it had better be going somewhere," the Chief Justice said.

"Thank you, Your Honor. General Hall, when were you finally released from Vietnam?" Jen asked, returning to my father.

"1979."

"But, I thought that there was no live POWs in Vietnam after 1975?"

"That's what they would like for you to think." he said quietly.

"Why do you say that?" Jen asked, a small smile on her face.

"As of 1990, there were still POWs in Vietnam. The government had no bargaining chips with the Vietnamese government and they didn't want to return their POWs. So, they stayed there. By 1990, we received intel that the last POW had made an attempt to get free and was killed." he said officially.

"Why would they do this? Why would the government lie to us?" Jen asked, obviously setting him up.

"Because the government wants to cover their mistakes. It's a hell of a lot easier to lie to the American public, then to admit that we were unable to retrieve over one hundred American POWs." he replied grimly.

"So, in the case of your son, could it be possible that the United States Military lied to us about your son?" Jen asked forcefully.

"What do you mean?" my father asked.

"Isn't it completely possible that the United States Military authorized everything that Mr. Hall did? However, they didn't expect them to attack a US Military base. Not only that, if they did, they didn't expect them to do it as well as they did. Isn't that all completely possible, General Hall?" Jen said, her smile growing by the second.

"Yes. I suppose it is." he said sharply.

"Thank you, General Hall, no further questions."

Jen slowly made her way back to her seat. When she was seated, she leaned in closer to me.

"You had better hope that holds."

The prosecutor had just finished rereading something over on his desk. Quickly, he spoke without even looking up from the page he was reading.

"Do you think this soldier followed orders?" he said.

My father sat there for a couple seconds before responding.

"I cannot be sure. I wasn't in charge of the operations over there." he said.

"Well, do you know who was?" the prosecutor said smartly.

"I believe that General Glenn Talbot was in charge of Black Operations in Afghanistan." my father replied.

"Do you know General Talbot?" the prosecutor shot back.

"Yes, I trained him in his own Black Operations training."

"So, you were in Black Ops as well?"

"Yes. For over thirty years." my father said proudly.

"And you ran operations after that?" the prosecutor shot out.

"Yes, until I retired."

The prosecutor finally stood and made his way around the table, looking first at me and then at my father with a malicious smile.

"So, then I would say you know what kind of orders General Talbott would have given?"

"Most likely but not definitively." my father said.

"Do you think what your son did was within his orders?"

"I cannot be sure without knowing his exact orders." my father replied quickly.

The prosecutor made his way right up to the witness box, placing his hands on the front of the stand.

"Then guess." he said pointedly.

"I would have to say that there is a very strong chance that what he did wasn't covered in his orders."

"Mr. Hall, would you please stop being belligerent and answer my question!?" the prosecutor yelled.

"I will not. I have no way of knowing whether what he did was in his orders or not. And please refer to me as _General_ Hall." my father responded angrily.

"Chief Justice, would you please instruct the witness to answer the question?" the prosecutor asked desperately.

The Chief Justice almost chuckled. "I believe that the witness has answered the question to the best of his ability. Do you have anything else?"

"No."

"General Hall, you are excused. Break for a five minute recess."

* * *

It was time. Time for me to put everything on the line. I don't care what Jen said. I really don't. I know that what I'm doing is right. Is it a huge risk? Of course. I know that. Despite being in the Army, I'm not stupid.

But, I believed with everything in my heart that what I was doing was right. I had already sat on the stand and given my oath. Now, I realized that I was thinking over everything the Chief Justice was saying.

"....result, only the Prosecution will be allowed to ask this witness questions. Please keep them short and to the point. Mr. Hall, you may begin."

"My name is Lieutenant Lance Donovan Hall. I am a member of the Army Rangers and Black Operations United of the United States Armed Forces. I have served in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, and Belarus. I have already been sent to back to the Middle East because of my outstanding track record."

I could stop shaking. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop. I could barely sit still. So, I decided I wouldn't. I got up and made my way down to the floor and placed myself in front of the Justices.

"Sorry about this. Forgive me if I seem a little nervous. Talking to large crowds really isn't my strong suit."

Apparently some of them caught my small attempt at humor and responded with a chuckle. However, I thought it best not to stay in that mode for too long.

"Sorry. Anyway, I was chosen for Black Operations because I was the best recruit many of the trainers had ever seen. I hold nearly every physical fitness record for someone of my size. I was the first recruit to respond with perfect accuracy and no shots taken in the first live field test. I am the only person to ever graduate early from the Army's training program. I was the youngest soldier ever admitted into the Army Rangers and by almost six years, the youngest ever taken into Black Ops."

Again, I couldn't hold still. So, I started to pace.

"My first and only Black Ops mission was a UC mission. Undercover. I was sent into northern Pakistan to join a group of Islamic activist who we thought were supporting Al Qaeda. They were. In fact, during my time there, I was sent with a group to pick up an incredibly important person. It turned out to be Osama Bin Laden, leader of Al Qaeda and organizer of the 9/11 attacks. I'm the reason that, in two weeks, he will be hanged in Kabul, Afghanistan. I sent back the intel to my direct superior who transferred it to the President."

I stopped in front of the middle of the stand.

"That was the last transmission I sent. The equipment I got must have been faulty. As we found out when having it checked out by an expert once I was brought back here, they would have only worked about 15% of the time. Once I attempted to leave camp and make my way back to the base. I may have made it if I had not been caught. I had to kill seven members of the organization and burn their bodies so that I wouldn't get caught."

It hurt to remember that night. I had hated doing it. I knew that they deserved it but it still didn't feel right, killing them in cold blood.

"Then, I learned that they thought that it was a small American unit that had infiltrated them and were planning on taking them out from the inside. Obviously, they were right. So, they decided to move in on the American base nearby. I was chosen as part of a group that was told to plan an attack on FOB Rhino. I did my best to keep them from knowing true specifics. However, there was nothing I could do to stop the attacks. I had to take part in them. So, I shot my brother and I shot my best friend's brother. I don't deny that. But just like what this slimeball over here said, I did this for my country. Whatever you chose to do I will accept because I know that my actions were the best line of action."

With that, I turned and made my way back to the witness box. The prosecutor slowly stood and made his way towards me. Eventually, he stopped and placed his hands on the front of the stand, just like he had with my father.

"How many people had you killed before the attack on FOB Rhino?"

"Eighty-seven," I said quietly.

"Eighty-seven? That's a lot. Ok, how many had you killed while you were undercover?"

"Twenty-three," I replied, just as quiet as before.

"Twenty-three. Wow, you're quite the killer. Does that include the eighty-seven?" he replied sharply.

"No."

My voice had almost disappeared.

"Wow. So eighty-seven plus twenty-three. How many is that?" he asked.

"One hundred and ten."

"One hundred and ten. Ok. How many people did you shoot during your attack on FOB Rhino?"

"Forty-nine."

"Forty-nine!? Had you killed that many in a single attempt before?" he asked defiantly.

"No. Once I had killed nineteen, but never that many."

"How many of them died do you think?" the prosecutor asked me.

"Over forty." I replied honestly.

"Well, we got our information from the FBI Forensics Division. You went in with a military grade shotgun and a Desert Eagle Magnum pistol. We caught each person on your team eventually and you were the only person to use either of those weapons. So, we checked the wounds of the victims to those kind of guns and the wounds they would make. Do you know how many we found? Do you? Forty-seven. The only two that didn't die were your brother and your old bunkmate. Not even your best friend's brother was spared." the prosecutor accused.

"Yeah. I know. I was doing my job." I replied.

"Doing your job!? You're telling me that massacring over forty men was your job?" the prosecutor yelled back.

I sat there for a bit to think about. And then, as calmly as I could, I answered.

"Yes. My job was to protect my country. I've done that." I answered confidently.

The prosecutor nearly laughed out loud, turned, and dismissively said: "Nothing further."

The Chief Justice leaned over. "Thank you, Mr. Hall. The Court will now deliberate. If we do not decide by eight o'clock tonight, we will call you back. That will continue until we have decided. The Justices must be unanimous, so this could take some time. You are dismissed. Mr. Hall, as a request from the United States Army, you will be released until a decision has been made."

I was free. At least for a little bit.

* * *

**Five Hours Later**

I had gone and visited everyone I could think of. Being in the military, I had a lot of friends in the Washington area. But, after awhile, I grew tired. I grew tired of living like I was going to die. So, I headed out to the Mall and sat there. It was a beautiful day outside.

Was it scary knowing that this could be the last day I spend on my own for the rest of my life? Knowing that at any moment I could get a call saying that I was going to be trapped for the rest of my life?

I didn't even consider running. If what that Colcord guy had said was true, they would find me anyway.

I was almost asleep in the warm sun when Jen yelled for me. She had been sitting on a bench just a few feet away. I slowly got up. I wanted to take my time to get over to her. I wanted to enjoy this.

I knew what she was going to say before I even got there.

"They've decided. We need to be there in a half hour." she said solemnly.

"What does that mean?" I said.

"Well, with a jury, quick decisions are usually bad. But, I have no idea with these guys."

"Ok. Hey Jen, I want to thank you for this. Even if we don't win, I can't thank you enough for what you've done for me." I said, starting to cry a bit.

She made her way up to me and put her hand on my face.

"Stop crying. It's not over yet."

* * *

**30 Minutes Later  
United States Supreme Court Building**

This was it. The end of it all. I had come in and immediately been chained up to the table. Then, the Justices had filed in for the last time. Finally, after some quick talk, the time was here.

"Would the defendant please rise?" the Chief Justice said.

I slowly stood, tears already starting. I knew I would cry, whether we won or lost.

"Mr. Hall," the Justice began. "We believe that you thought what you were doing was right. We believe that you did everything you could was to defend your country. We believe that you are the hero that everyone says you are."

He paused.

"And if this were a military court, things may have played out differently. However, the military chose not to take care of this themselves and passed it to us. We are not bound by the same rules as the military. We cannot treat you as a soldier. We have to treat you as a human being."

He looked down at his notes. Then, he look back up.

"After discussing things with the Attorney General of the United States of America, we have found you innocent of treason."

I was shocked. I had never thought that I would be let off. I started to cry even harder, thinking I was finally free. Suddenly, I looked up to see that the Chief Justice had his hand raised, indicating that he obviously wasn't done.

"However, we cannot overlook the assault of forty-seven different men. As a result, the court finds you guilty of two accounts of assault with a deadly weapon, forty-six counts of murder in the second degree, and one count of murder in the first degree."

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing could have prepared me for this. This was life and then some.

"Normally, each count of assault would carry a sentence of one year. However, the court will waive these in light of your other charges. Murder in the second degree carries a sentence of life in prison with a chance at parole. Finally, murder in the first degree will carry a sentence of life with capital punishment allowed. You will be allowed to appeal the capital punishment. However, as we are the highest court in the United States, there is no appeal process for the decision, outside of a mistrial. If your appeal of the death penalty is successful, you would be eligible for parole in twenty-five years. Do you have any questions?"

I couldn't say anything. Nothing at all.

"The United States Government has been requested that you be transferred to the Vault, the supermaximum prison facility in the Atlantic Ocean for superpowered humans. We have allowed this request to be processed. You will be held overnight in your normal holding cell and then you will be taken by boat to the Vault tomorrow morning."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. We had lost.

"Mr. Hall, I would like to let you know that the Court has no pleasure in doing this to you. We really do believe that you are who you say you are. However, we just simply could not ignore your actions."

It was over. It was all over.

"We are dismissed. Guards, please escort Mr. Hall back to his holding cell."

My life was over.


	6. Torture

The Vault

October 1, 2008

* * *

Four months. That's how long I had been in this hellhole. It was terrible. This place was filled with the worst kind of people. If your friendly, neighborhood Spider-man or Daredevil or the X-Men or whoever had fought them and they had superpowers, they were either here or had been here.

Eddie Brock was here. Cletus Kasady was here. Flint Marko had been here. So had Magneto and the Juggernaut. It was ridiculous. The fact that nobody had been killed here yet was a miracle. Luckily, the Vault was funded by some of the richest countries in the world. So, there were force fields and power dampeners and everything else you could think of to keep us from using our powers. They hadn't figured out how to block my power yet, which was good since about five hours inside, I had put them to good use.

When you first enter the Vault, you meet with the Warden. No one, not even the guards, knew his name. He was big, but not fat at all. Quite the opposite, actually. He stood a good foot taller than me (which didn't say much). He was just massive, all muscle.

The guards sat me down in a chair in front of his desk. They removed the bulletproof vest I had been given to prevent me from being killed in transit. They figured that someone would try and kill the guy who killed a bunch of American soldiers.

I wish they had.

Once they had taken the vest off, they cuffed my hands and feet to the chair. Two guards left while one stayed at the back of the room, his rifle aimed perfectly at my temple. I could even see the laser creep into my field of vision every so often.

Finally, the warden sat. I hadn't seen his face yet. The whole time he had been facing the large ocean outside. He began speaking without turning.

"Officer Barnes, you are dismissed." he said with a large booming voice.

The guard at the door lowered his rife and gave a quick salute before he left.

"Lance Donovan Hall. Army Ranger. Black Ops. Stands at five feet ten inches and weighs in at two hundred and ten pounds. Trained in advanced weaponry. Convicted of first and second degree murder. Up for parole in twenty-five years. Well, Mr. Hall, you shall be here for a long time."

Finally, he turned around. His face was just as big as the rest of him. His jaw sat perfectly, making him the perfect intimidator.

"You don't know me, Mr. Hall. But, I know you. I know that I have my boss on hold. He wants to know if you're still interested in his deal?" the Warden said threateningly.

"Colcord is your boss? So he really wasn't kidding when he said he ruled here to?" I said quietly.

"No, he wasn't kidding. So, here's how this is going to work. You're going to agree to this so I can get you out of here."

"I don't think so." I said sharply.

The Warden stood sharply. "I don't think you understand how things work here. Either you agree to do this for Colcord or I get a different inmate to come after you each day. Even if you win, the guards will have permission to beat you half to death. After four months, if you get that far, I'll turn off the ability dampener of whoever I get to attack you. You'll be going against the strong superhumans in the world. You'll die in two days. Or you'll say yes right now and save me the trouble."

I sat there silently for a couple seconds before I replied.

"Can I see my cell?" I asked with a half-cocked smile on my face.

Even if I hadn't been cuffed to their chair, I wouldn't have had time to move.

BAM!

His foot hit me square in the nose. The chair overturned and I laid on my side, blood running like a river from my nose.

"Get him out of here!" he yelled to the guard in the hallway. The guard came rushing in and as he went to uncuff me, the Warden motioned for him to stop.

"Get someone else and pick him up. Throw him into his cell and leave him there until dinner." he said.

Laying on the ground, I heard another guard enter the room and begrudgingly grab the base of the chair. The other grabbed the top of the chair and hoisted me off the ground. The walk down to my cell was miserable. I could see the blood running out of my nose, leaving a trail behind us. I could feel myself slipping into unconciousness with each step.

Once we reached my cell, they opened the large plexiglass door and threw me inside. I was awake long enough to notice that my cell look sort of like something from out of Silence of the Lambs. The ceiling was high and lined with steel or some kind of metal. The door wasn't your normal barred door, but a sheet of plexiglass with some holes in it.

That was really all I had time to notice, as I passed out.

I was rudely awakened some time later by one of the guards. I looked up and immediately recognized him as the guard who had been in the office, holding a gun to my head. He slowly opened the door. I noticed that above the him and surrounding the premises of the entire compound were lines of snipers. He removed the cuffs from my wrists and ankles, revealing the cuts and bruises they had left during my unconciousness.

As I made my way to my feet, he kicked me hard in the stomach, placing me on my back. He placed his rifle on my throat and cocked it.

"I was in the military for ten years. I should kill you right now. You sicken me. But, I respect your work to give you one bit of advice. The Warden pulled Eddie Brock into his office just after you were carried out of there. He's your predator today. Watch out for him."

He removed the rifle and kicked me in the ribs before allowing me to get up.

I walked down the long hallway to the large mess hall. There almost everyone had already been seated and was slowly eating. The food actually didn't look too bad, although I was withholding judgement until I got a taste of it.

Suddenly, applause rang throughout the hall. I looked to the front of the room to see a table of men who I had seen on the television during high school. Cletus Kasady. Maxwell Dillon. Pyro and Alex Summers. But it was the face at the end of the table that got me.

Eddie Brock.

He had once been the being known to the public only as Venom. But, Spider-Man had caught him and they had taken away the abilities that made him so dangerous. Or at least that's what the public thought. Obviously they were at least partially wrong. The man was huge. Obviously being in prison had been good for his physique. He stood well over six feet tall and had to weigh at least two hundred and seventy pounds. And it was all muscle.

The man was obviously in control of at least a small faction of the prison. The men at his table all wore a band on various parts of their body. Each one said the same thing: Venom. A look around told me what I already assumed. This prison was controlled by superhuman gangs. Obviously everyone in this dreadful place was superpowered but only some were strong enough to get a controlling interest in what happened when the Warden wasn't looking.

Another table each had an Octopus scar on the back of their neck. No doubt this represented famous inmate Dr. Otto Octavius, formerly known as Doctor Octopus. The table past them each had a Rhino horn tattoo on their hand, a tribute to former inmate Aleskei Sytsevich, otherwise known as the Rhino. The man standing at the end of the table appeared to be James Sanders, known as the Speed Demon and a known ally of The Rhino.

The last table was interesting. Each of them wore a ring with a crown on it. About two weeks later, I would finally get the courage to ask one of them who it represented. The answer was simple.

"The Kingpin."

So, the man who apparently ran crime in New York City, Boston and a collection of other East Coast cities did exist.

Venom, Octopus, Rhino, and Kingpin. These four gangs ruled the prison during the days. But now I understood. Each one of them still reported to the Warden in some way or another. I was totally screwed.

Brock left the table he had been standing by, nodding to the guards as he passed. As he did this, each one of the put their rifle down and appeared to look away from the main floor. He slowly made his way in my direction, something I knew couldn't be good, considering I still couldn't feel my face.

He yelled loudly from across the hall, silencing the mass.

"Hey! There's the War Hero!"

The crowd went silent as Eddie Brock finally came face to face with me. Or at least it would have been if I was the same height as him.

"This little fuck was the best thing our country could get? Seriously? Hell, if they let me out of here, I'll fight for these guys. I'll even take this bastard with me." he said with a smile on his face. Then, he slowly leaned in towards me.

"But just so he can be my bitch." he whispered in my ear.

I had made a decision not to attack. Retaliation was fine in my opinion. Antagonizing a guy like him was probably not a good idea. Provoking him was worse. But outright attacking him was probably the worst thing I could do. So I remained silent. My silence obviously had no effect on him as he continued on his ridiculous monologue.

"Alright, bitch. Here's what I'm going to do first. I'm going to beat the shit out of you. Then, I'm gonna let Johnnie and Alex come over and beat the shit out of you. After that, I think Cletus will enjoy cutting you up a little bit. And then do you know what I'm going to do? DO YOU?" he yelled.

I could tell that my silence was starting to get to him. His pacing had stopped and he no longer appeared to be performing for the prison population. No, now I had gotten him where I wanted him. In a one-on-one.

"Do you know what I'm going to do to you!? DO YOU!? I'm gonna fuck you, man. I'm gonna fuck you so hard you won't even be able to walk! Man, this is going to be good. I put money on him hanging himself tonight after what I do to him."

While Eddie Brock took his time selling himself to the crowd, I began to examine him. Sure, he was big enough. But, it was all bulky muscle. No chance he would be able to outrun me. Not without his Venom abilities. And for the first time in a long time, I accessed my ability.

He was like looking into a goofy X-Ray machine. I could see all of his muscles and bones, but just their outline. But some of them were different. They glowed like a bug zapper in the Louisiana bayou. His left knee was pretty weak. A good shot there and he would be gone. Also, his right arm had been broken at some point before and had healed incorrectly. Without the proper protection, I could definitely break that too. All I needed was a chance to prove it.

He turned back to me. Apparently he was done showboating for the crowd. He bent down and got in my face. Really in my face.

"What do you think, bitch? What do you think!?" he yelled, spitting all over my face.

"I think you are an arrogant, rude, and stupid-ass motherfucker." I said plainly.

Apparently, that made him upset. He swung with his enormous right paw right for my head. Lucky for me, I had anticipated it and ducked underneath it. I quickly tucked under and regained my footing directly behind him. A quick kick to the small of his back sent him flying into the column in front of him. A large crack and a short grunt was heard around the room. He sharply turned around. Blood ran from his face as his nose had been broken and several teeth had been knocked out. I couldn't help myself.

"Aw, now you match me!" I said, pointing to my obviously broken nose.

Brock launched himself off the column in my general direction. I sharply turned and ran. He followed me to the center of the dining area where a large rectangular table sat. I decided that while working in small spaces may not be the best idea, it was the best way for me to end things quickly. So, I grabbed all of the tables around me and flipped them over, creating a small box, which would act as our ring.

Brock took the bait right away. He jumped inside the ring and began swinging at me. His movements were very strong and quicker than I thought they would be. They were still slower than I was. I was waiting for him to expose either of his injuries. Just one quick second and I could end things. But while I was waiting, he decided he would do some damage. A move a little to slow and his mammoth left hand collided with the side of my head. Immediately everything started to spin.

My ability had some troubles working in this condition and I knew I was going to have to fight back sooner or later. So, when he dove for me, I ducked out of the way. He turned around expecting to see me falling all over myself. What he got instead was my left fist buried into his jaw.

He fell backwards, obviously surprised by the force of the hit he had just taken. He seemed in no hurry to finish things as he stood staring at me. Suddenly, he went back to playing for the crowd.

"Did you see that? The little bitch thinks he can hit me? I don't think so, you cocky, little motherfucker!" he said as he charged again.

His short performance had given me enough time to regain my senses and my ability. I noticed quickly before he got to me that he ran very open, which meant that when he stopped I was going to get a good shot at his left knee.

Sure enough, he stopped with all of his weight on his right leg, leaving his left knee completely exposed. I quickly lifted my left leg and, like I was going to smash a bug, forced it into his left knee.

The subsequent crack was enough to send even the hardest of men run. Or crying in Brock's case. He fell quickly to the floor holding his knee, which was completely backwards. I smirked, thinking I had finished the job, when I heard him cry out.

"HALL!!! You get back here. I'm not done with you yet!"

He somehow made his way to his feet and hopped over to me on only his right foot. He stopped inches away from me.

"You don't play fair, Hall. I'll kill you for that." he said, sweating profusely and obviously in pain.

"I'd like to see you try." I replied smartly.

He reared back and swung hard with his right arm. I caught the strike quickly. He was big and very strong. But, he was also weaker than normal. I decided to really end things.

"Guess what?" I asked with a smirk.

"What, bitch!?" Brock said while grunting in pain.

"I'm gonna break your arm." I said matter-of-factly.

"I bet." he said, trying to laugh through the pain.

I swiftly lifted up my left arm and drove my elbow into his outstretched forearm, splitting it clean in two. He was done. He fell back to the group, howling and swearing the rooftop. He rolled on the floor, cursing me and crying for help. All the while, I didn't notice that the guards had all drawn their weapons again.

"FIRE!" I heard from the balcony above us.

Suddenly, rubber bullets pounded my body. It seemed like an eternity. They hit and broke skin and bruised and cut and damaged me to the extreme. They kept firing and firing and firing. They fired forever. Then, it stopped. Well, the shooting did. My body couldn't keep up with the pain. I couldn't even keep my head up. Somebody was yelling something about everyone getting down. More yelling. Everything hurt.

But, I did notice someone walking towards me. He kneeled down beside me and spoke gently into my ear. It was a very familiar voice.

"I do own this place, Hall. The Warden works for me. This prison is a Weapon X facility. This will happen to you everyday you don't agree to come along with me. So, either you come with me or you die. Those are your options."

Colcord stood up and walked away. It had taken all the energy I had just to stay awake that long. So, I collapsed.

* * *

That was four months ago. He had lied. It wasn't everyday. But it was at least every other day, if not more. My body never stopped aching. I didn't even fight back anymore. I knew that I was broken.

So, what was the point? I didn't even remember why I was resisting. Weapon X or something like that.

Maybe there I would have some meaning. Some purpose. Maybe there I wouldn't be a human punching bag. Who knows?

* * *

I knocked on the door.

"ENTER!" the loud Texan boomed inside.

I slowly opened the door. The Warden was sitting there, working on something at his computer. It didn't occur to me that he actually worked and that he wasn't just a step short of a German officer during the Holocaust. He looked up and saw me.

Quickly, he drew a gun from the holster on his side and aimed it at me.

"How the hell did you get in here!?" he yelled angrily.

"The guards let me in." I replied.

"WHY?" he replied.

"Because I have something to tell you." I replied, ashamed.

"WHAT!?" his anger reaching a peak.

"Tell Colcord I'm in."


	7. Team Plus

April 2, 2009

Unknown Weapon Plus Facility

* * *

I had stayed in the Vault until late March. It had been the worst experience of my entire life. Luckily, I was still alive. Once I told the Warden I was going to go along with things, I was untouchable. I was given every privilege there was. No one could shoot me or hit me or anything.

The problem was I only wanted one thing. I wanted out. I didn't care where. Just out.

Colcord had contacted me a couple times during those last few months. He told me that they were prepping my team or something like that. I had no idea what they meant. A team?

All I know is that March 28th, Colcord sent a team of men to pick me up. I got to spend the past few days out in the light. I got to roam the world. Now, there was a sniper team everywhere I went that would shoot me if I tried to run, but I didn't care. I never thought I was going to see the sun again. Or grass. Or children. Or women. Or anything.

They said that once I was done with my training they would contact the US government and get me a pardon so I could live a normal life again. I wasn't banking on it. I didn't trust them people. Not one bit. But, they got me out of prison, so I would go along with them for a little bit.

They had blindfolded me during the plane ride to wherever we were going. When we got there, they took it off to reveal a huge scientific looking facility. Looking around, I couldn't make any real deductions about where we were. It was a very bland area. Nothing too interesting.

I was led to a room that looked like a large conference room. However, there was just one small table there with three chairs, two of which were already occupied.

The one on the left was taken by a large man with tattoos everywhere and scars all over the place. He definitely didn't look to be the military fact, he had several tattoos that looked like they were prison tattoos. He definitely did look like that type. The one of the right was occupied by a beautiful girl. She had long brown hair and green eyes. She actually looked to be my age. Maybe we would be working together. After all that had happened, I definitely wouldn't be against that.

Both of them wore the same outfit. A black tactical shirt with black combat pants and combat boots. Their attire told me that they had been there at least a little while longer than me. But how long?

I made my way to the table and took me seat the second I sat, someone walked into the room and approached the podium in front of us.

"Good morning. My name is General Glenn Talbot. I will be your commander for your time here."

Glenn Talbot. He was in charge of the Afghanistan Military front. He was the one who got me transferred to Black Ops and then here. He was the reason I was here.

"The three of you will train together to become a super-infiltration team. I know that you are going to be shy right now. So, I will read of your information and your rank here."

He left the podium with a clipboard and made his way in front of the large black guy.

"Malcolm Howard Hughes. Twenty-one years of age. Spent time in multiple federal prison systems for felony theft charges. Has the ability to turn his body into vapor and can float or levitate this vapor. Infiltration Specialist. Weapon Plus gives him the 3rd class ranking. Codename: Shade."

I expected him to come to me next. Instead, he passed me for the girl on my right.

"Danielle Gayle Stockwell. Nineteen years old. Convicted of criminal trespassing last year. Spent time in local jail. Animal Transformation ability. Siege Specialist with Infiltration Ability. Weapon Plus gives her the Second Class Ranking. Codename: Wolf."

Finally, Talbot turned and made his way back to me. He grimaced as he looked down at me.

"Lt. Lance Donovan Hall. Also, twenty-one years old. Convicted of Treason by the United States Supreme Court and sentenced to life in prison. Spent time in federal holding cell and the Vault, special prison for superpower criminal. Ability to locate weak points in people or situations. Also a highly advanced battle strategist. Equally efficient in Siege and Infiltration Warfare. Weapon Plus gives him the Field Commander Ranking and field control of Team Plus. Codename: Ghost."

He swiftly returned to the podium. He put the clipboard down and continued on with his briefing.

"During missions and training sessions, you will be required to use your codenames. However, during the evenings and your occasional days off, you are encouraged to get to know each other and trust each other. It is in this way that you will be successful in the field."

He hit a button on the podium in front of him and the wall behind him opened up.

"Now, meet your instructor."

A man of fairly average size entered. He had a small metal band on his left leg. Apparently even the staff was kept here against their will. He wore an all-black tactical suit and a strange looking red mask. The shirt, however, only covered his biceps and on his forearms and hands, you could see many scars and bruises. Despite all that, he was very heavily armed. From what I could see, he carried two Desert Eagle Magnum pistols, two M416 Carbine Assault Rifles, at least six frag hand grenades, a block of C4, anywhere in the range of six to eight knives, and a Barrett .50 caliber sniper rifle. Apparently, this man was prepared to go to war.

"Wade Wilson. Codename: Deadpool. He will be the one you are in contact with every day. Learn from him. He is the best at what he does." Talbot said plainly.

"HEY! Isn't that someone else's line?" Wade said quickly.

"No. Anyw-" Tablot replied, obviously annoyed.

"Are you sure? Cuz I'm pretty sure that Wolverine guy or what his name is says that? I dunno. Maybe we should ask the people reading this if they know?" Wade said with energy. He turns and faces the computer screen.

"Do you guys know if Wolverine says something like that? Man, I feel like I'm in a freaking Dora the Explorer episode. Swiper NO Swiping! Whatever the hell that means! I mean, since when does a fox steal stuff other than chickens? Just weird man. Anyway, Wolverine? Got any ideas? Don't worry, I'll look it up and get back to you in a few chapters!"

**_"What are you talking about!"_** Talbot questioned.

"I'm really not sure. Anyway, continue, big man." Wade said.

"_Anyway_, you will train with him for the next six months. In that time, you will need to learn each other's strengths and weaknesses. That way, you can learn how to balance off of one another. Now, you will not start today. You are to go back to your assigned room. Sleep well, you will need it." Talbot said menacingly.

The three of us stood instantly. No one spoke to the other as we left the room. As we left someone called my name, I turned to see General Talbot calling me. I made my way to him.

"I am sorry about this." he said softly.

"General, you were apart of a plan to get me convicted of treason when we both know that what I did was strictly _within _ the orders I was given, were you not?" I asked with anger.

"I was. But, it was the only way to get you here. Here, you are completely outside of the legal arena. You can do anything here." he replied.

"I don't care. Now, where the hell is my room?" I asked sharply.

He motioned with his right hand to the door he was standing next to.

"Right here actually." he said.

I walked in. If I had one thing to say, it was definitely better than what I had been staying in. The bed appeared to be nice. The closet was filled with tactical gear and walls were lined with guns and knives. I turned to ask the General what they were for but he beat me to it.

"Your training. Each morning, you will be allowed to pick whatever weapons you choose. But, pick carefully because if you pick a weapon, it will be two days before you can use it again."

"Thank you, General."

"Lance, just so you know, here, in this place, I hold no rank." he said calmly.

"I know. This place obviously isn't funded by the government." I replied jokingly.

He immediately smiled.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. Get some sleep, Lance. I wasn't kidding when I said you would need it."

With that thought, he left.

I immediately hopped into bed with only one thought in my mind.

This place is funded by the government?

And if they do, what does the place actually do?

Do I play James Bond or something?

Frankly, what the hell is going on here?

I wonder if that Danielle girl is cool?

This bed is nice...

* * *

The Control Room

"Did he seem pissed off about being here?" Senator Kelly asked.

"Yeah, actually, I think pissed is an understatement." Talbot replied.

_"He's here. That's all that matters. Collins, is he going to work?_"

"Yeah, he's going to work. The doctors did a work-up on his blood. It will be rough but he should be able to survive the procedure. He'll be out of commission for a week or so afterwards though." Agent Collins replied.

_"That's fine. You didn't see what he did to Eddie Brock. He doesn't need our training."_ Colcord stated confidently.

"That good, huh?" Dr. Mower replied.

_"I haven't seen someone this good in almost forty years."_

"Weapon X?" Dr. Mower asked.

_"Yes." _

"Are we going to send him after him?" Collins asked.

_"In due time. In due time."_


	8. The Hunt

_"Good morning, Team Plus. Today, you will begin your training. You have ten minutes to be in the mess hall. From there, you will have thirty minutes to eat whatever you can. Then, you will train the rest of the day. Late this evening, you will enter the mess hall again. Again, you will be given thirty minutes to eat. Then, a quick shower and off to bed. Welcome to Weapon Plus. I hope it doesn't kill you."_

Malcolm Colcord. The one voice I never wanted to hear again. Luckily, I had slept well that night, the first time in a long time and almost assuredly the last in even longer. So, I wasn't in a bad mood, yet. But, his description of our day didn't lend one to a lot of hope.

Suddenly, his voice returned.

_"Ghost, today you will begin hand-to-hand combat training. Only knives and swords are allowed to be taken out today. Choose whatever you like and how ever much you can carry. You have two minutes."_

I had never been fond of blades. I had always preferred an assault rifle or pistol if I had needed to kill someone.

However, I knew that if I didn't keep up with the program, something bad would happen. So, I walked over to the several decks of swords and knives and began looking for something to use. Two kinds of weapons immediately caught my eye. The first was a short sword. It looked a lot like the kind of sword that a ninja or a samurai from the movies would use.

This blade had one noticeable difference. It was much shorter than your typically _katana_. It was two and a half to three feet, at most.

So, I picked up two of them and their respective covers and strapped them to my back. It felt strange, usually it would have been a sniper rifle or a machine gun. The two swords were noticeably lighter than the guns had been. I knew that it would be an advantage but it would definitely have to be something I got used to.

But it was the other blade that caught my attention. It was well over a foot long, with large, double-serrated teeth on the backside of the blade. It was one that many Marines carried. I had always been fond of it. Well, as fond as I was of knives. It was a United Marine Force Recon Night Stalker Bowie. I had loved their look and their usefulness. I picked it up. It was incredibly light and the rubber handle made handling it incredibly easy. I put the one that had already picked up back in its sheath and put that sheath around my left leg. Then, I picked up three more, placing one on my right leg and one on each side of my waist.

Instantly, a small sense of peace flooded over me. It had been so long since I had been armed. It was who I was. I was a soldier. Some people would argue with that. They would say I was a killer. It wasn't true. I was a warrior. I fought for honor and I fought for my country.

And my country had betrayed me.

Deciding that these were all the weapons I needed, I left my room. Having only been in the briefing room and my room, I had no idea where to look for the mess hall. Maybe that was part of the training. Luckily, I walked around long enough to find a map on the wall. It said that the mess hall was up on the second floor, almost directly above where I was. A quick run up the stairs put me there.

The other two were already there and eating. So, after a quick trip through and just as quickly realizing that the food in prison looked better than this, I made my way back across the mess hall and took a seat across from my other inmates.

A couple minutes went by in silence before the girl finally spoke up.

"My name is Dani."

The simplicity of it made me chuckle a bit. It made me feel like the first day of school all over again.

"My name is Lance," I replied with a small laugh.

We both quickly turned at the large, black man who sat next to her.

"Malcolm." he said shortly.

"Not the talkative kind, huh?" Dani said quietly.

"No, I just don't deal well with talking to the man who murdered my brother." Malcolm said with fire in his eyes.

I turned to Dani.

"You murdered his brother?"

"No, you motherfucker, you did!" Malcolm said before launching himself across the table at me.

Instantly, I drew the Night Stalker in my left hand. Had it not been for his ability to turn into vapor, he would have been dead. He managed to transform himself tenths of a second before the knife would have entered his heart. As it was, I was pretty sure I got a small mark into him.

Sure enough, seconds later, he reappeared, a small cut on his left shoulder. He looked incredibly angry and he made his way to attack me again. Something about his genetic makeup prevented me from getting a good lock on him, but there was a small area of him that was almost solid, even when he transformed. I couldn't really hit it but it appeared that if I was able to get ahold of it, he would turn solid again.

So, even though he disappeared moments before he got to me, I could almost always see where he was. And so, a quick dodge and a punch in the general direction of the only part of him I could see did the job.

He fell to the ground, bleeding from the mouth. I wasn't at all sure what that was from. Maybe it was like internal bleeding? Maybe he could feel that when he was in his vapor state? Either way, I knew that I had won.

"Next time, I'll leave a hand grenade in there." I said sharply.

"Veeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyy !" we heard from just outside of the room.

We turned to see that same freaky guy from last night.

"It seems we have a killer among us." Deadpool yelled. "I was sent down here to keep you guys from killing each other. It seems that you guys were able to do that yourselves. Isn't that neat!"

"We're supposed to be a team!" Malcolm screamed. "This guy is supposed to lead us in doing whatever the fuck we're gonna be doing? This is the guy that was sent to prison for life because he killed like fifty of his own men. "Following orders", my fucking ass! You're a fucking merc!"

"HEY! Don't knock Mercs!" Deadpool said quickly. I think he might have been smiling under that goofy mask of his.

"Wait, you were that guy that was convicted by the Supreme Court for treason?" Dani asked with a concerned look in her eyes.

"Yes," I said quietly. "These guys planted information to get me convicted of treason so I could come be part of their project."

"BULLSHIT MAN! You're a fuckin' killer and you know it!" Malcolm said with anger.

"Yeah! I killed those people! But, I was following the orders of my superiors. Superiors who worked for Weapon Plus." I said dejected.

"He's right."

Suddenly, a man in a sharp suit entered the room. He wore large, reflective sunglasses that covered most of his face. He was definitely hiding something under there. Parts of his face looked awkward and pulled, like his skin was covering too much area. Even though I had never seen him before, I instantly knew who it was.

"My name is Malcolm Colcord. I am the director of this facility. Mr. Hall is right. We used our government sources to frame him for treason and got him sent to the Vault, a superhuman prison conveniently run by a good friend of mine. We were able to basically torture him out of the Vault and into our program here."

"OOOOOOOO, Mr. Colcord, you are baaaddd!" Deadpool said, laughing hystarically.

"Shut up, Wilson. You guys have five minutes to be out on the training course. Get there," he said as he turned to leave the room.

I immediately left the room. I had no interest in being around Malcolm or anyone else for that matter. The last thing I needed on the first day of training was a reminder that I was not only directly responsible for over fifty deaths, but that I had killed most of them myself.

I wandered around for almost a minute until I finally walked through a set of large, double doors. I assumed this would have to be the training area. It looked like the inside of a large warehouse. But, it looked like the floor could move and there was a large observation deck. There was already a small collection of people up there who looked to be ready to watch something.

Watch us. That's what they were going to do. They were up there to watch our progress. They probably had a lot of money riding on us. Well, then we had better not disappoint.

Finally, Deadpool came out of a door on the side of the large room and made his way in our direction.

"Alright, today we start turning you pussies into soldiers. Yeah, even you, soldier-boy. That's a good song, isn't it! Anyway, each one of you will begin with training specific to your ability type. You will each go against each other. It will be kind of a small competition. The longer you can last, the better. Ghost, you'll start. Shade and Wolf, you guys are going to be tasked with attacking him with various hand-to-hand weapons. Ghost, once you drop a weapon, you can't pick it back up. We stop when you beat them senseless or until they beat you senseless."

I looked at the swords and knives I had picked up and noticed one thing. They were dull. Wilson seemed to notice.

"What? You think we'd let you kill each other? They have a small electric charger in them that will allow you to shock the other two. Eventually, they'll pass out if they get hit with it enough times. Pretty awesome, huh!"

"Yeah, awesome," I replied.

"Alright, well, stop bitchin' and let's get to it!" Wilson yelled.

Malcolm immediately grabbed a long staff and a couple small knives and turned, obviously ready for another crack at me. Dani took her time, noticeably uncomfortable before she finally grabbed four different swords that she hung on her back.

"When you pass out, you're done. GO!" Wilson screamed.

Malcolm quickly launched himself at me. He was just big, but also clumsy because of it. He decided, apparently, that the stick was his best option. I didn't have a whole lot of training with this style of fighting but I was in the best shape of anyone I knew.

He took the end of the stick and swung like a baseball bat. I quickly ducked under it and took one of the small knives and touched it to his leg. He immediately cried out and fell to the ground, growling and swearing at me.

Meanwhile, Dani had yet to move. She just looked at the swords she had grabbed, almost as if wondering what to do with them. Wilson came over to here and quickly got in her face. For the first time, he seemed to drop his stupid act and get serious.

"There are snipers all over this room that you can't see. If you don't cooperate, you will be shot in the head. I don't care if he knocks you out the first time. You will move. NOW!" he yelled.

Finally, she took two of the swords off of her back and approached me. Then, she quickly swung one at my head, hard. She also had obviously never had training of this kind before. But, she was very quick and nimble, making it hard for me to duck and roll so as it get closer to her. I decided the only way would be to actually fight back. I put one of the knives back in its sheath and pulled one of the short swords from my back.

She paused for a split second before attacking me. This time, I didn't try to dodge it. Instead, I moved my sword right up to meet her. The contact surprised her, knocking her off balance. She nearly fell to the floor before regaining her balance.

Suddenly, Malcolm regained himself and got up. He grabbed two knives and made another attempt to go at me.

"STOP!" Dani yelled at him.

"Why the hell should I listen to you, pretty girl?" Malcolm asked mockingly.

"We're training as a team. Just as much as they're training him, they're training us to. Neither of us can beat him alone, so we need to work together to get him." Dani said quietly.

"Oooooooooooooo! She's a smart one!" Wilson said loudly.

It was the one thing I didn't want them to do. She was quick and he was strong. Plus, I would be fighting for blades instead of just one or two. I knew that I wasn't prepared for that and for the first time in a long time, I was afraid.

"Ok, girl, so what do we do?" Malcolm asked.

"You take his right side. I think he's left handed and he won't be as strong over there. I can keep his attention with his left hand so you can swing hard." Dani said intelligently.

Quickly, they each took one side of me. I knew that things were going to quickly get a lot more challenging. Dani was definitely smart. He had to give her that, but why she had to make the obvious strategy known was beyond me. Did I do something to her?

I didn't have enough time to consider an answer when they both stepped forward to attack. I lasted about three seconds. I just simply couldn't pay attention to both of them at the same time. They both quickly broke through my defense and touched their weapons to my chest.

Instantly, I was on the ground. I could feel all of the muscles in my body tensing up over and over again. Eventually, what seemed like hours later, the actual shock stopped but the pain didn't. I didn't think I was actually in pain anymore. I could just remember it. Well. I made my way to stand and understood what we were doing.

They weren't teaching us to fight. They didn't have time to do that. They were teaching us to survive. We obviously didn't need to learn how to fight incredibly well this way. I just needed to learn how to survive. To do that, I needed to be smarter. I could allow them to take my on two-on-one. I needed to separate them.

I stood up slowly and took my place. Instantly, they both attacked again. I ducked under both swift attacks and rolled away and once I got to my feet, I ran. From there, I put my two swords back in the places and grabbed two knives from their places. The large room had several columns in it. But, there were also places that had almost no lighting. There were high bars and ropes hanging from the high ceiling. It was at that point that I realized that this is what this place had been built for: survival training.

I made my way behind one of the large columns and noticed a small fire escape looking thing above me. I jumped up and pulled myself up underneath it so that I was laying parallel, hiding myself from view and waited. It was tough, holding myself up like this, but I knew it was worth it.

It took about five minutes for one of them to get close to me. Malcolm came sprinting around the corner and conveniently stopped right underneath me. I couldn't help myself.

"_Malcolm,"_ I whispered quietly. He instantly looked around not knowing where to look or where I was. I decided to take him out of his misery.

"Up here, you shit."

Instantly, I fell on top of him, pinning him to the ground. I dropped the knife in my left hand, placing that hand over his mouth. Then, I took the knife in my right hand and placed in on his neck. His body shook for about thirty seconds before finally going limp. I reached down to his neck where I could still feel a good heartbeat.

_Good, he wasn't dead. Didn't want another person on my body count_

Then, I broke into a sprint, looking for Dani . Suddenly, I noticed a small bird hiding on one of the rope bridges on the upper level. It was staring right at me. And no matter where I moved it didn't seem to notice anything else. Then, I quickly noticed something, it had a small fracture on its left foot, the same place I had noticed Dani had one too.

_So, she thought she could trick me, huh? Good luck._

Then, in an instant, it dropped down to my level and started to change. The feathers turned from brown to grey to white to something whiter than white. It doubled and then tripled and then got so big I couldn't even begin to think about how big it was going to be. Its beak transformed into a row of huge razor sharp teeth. Within seconds, I was staring head on into the eyes of a fully grown polar bear.

"Wow, that's pretty cool." I said in awe.

Instantly, I pulled out my two swords and charged at her. She quickly reared up on her rear legs, standing straight up in the air. I sped up and hit her left back leg with both of the swords. You could hear the electricity running through her, but it didn't seem to make much of a difference. The large layers of fat on it protected it from the charge.

She put her front paws back down and turned much quicker than I expected, swiping a me. The paw hit me square in chest, knocking me clean off my feet. I flew several feet and hit the ground, rolling and tumbling so as to avoid further injury.

As I took my feet, I put the swords back and took out the knives and ran at her again. She took another large swipe at me as I got close, but I was able to dodge it and get in close to her. I took each of the knives and using a much force as possible, I stabbed them into her side.

Finally, she seemed to react to them, roaring out in pain. She quickly turned and made another attempt to hit me. Luckily, I was able to get out of the way and hit the two knives again, pushing them in farther and shocking her again. Her movements started to take two different forms: they were much quicker but they took much longer to happen. Each time she would move, I would hit the knives and shock her.

Suddenly, she collapsed and started the quick process to change back to her original form. I removed the knives and within seconds, she was back to normal.

Behind me, Deadpool and Malcolm, looking quite angry, approached me.

"Good job guys! That was ballin'! Alrighty, now its your turn, Malcolm! Time to hunt!" Deadpool said with excitement.


	9. Field Approved

**June 8, 2009**

**Weapon Plus**

I had already spent just over two months in this place. I couldn't imagine that. That's probably because we weren't ever really given a chance to rest. Dani, Malcolm, and I had spent two months honing our ability to use our abilities and work together. In fact, we were going to be let out of our cage here at Weapon Plus for our first field mission. However, it wasn't like Colcord was going to simply let us out of this place without monitoring. Each of us had an anklet placed on us. Within each one was a pound of C4. Any attempt to disable it or remove it and it would blow up. If our heart stopped beating, it would blow up to remove any evidence of us being there. Finally, if we left our parameters, they would remotely detonate it from Weapon Plus.

However, none of that really matter to me. We were getting out. I didn't care what I was going to have to do.

"Alright, ladies, listen up!" Deadpool said from the front of the small briefing room we were in. "You three are going to go to this facility in New York." he said as he pointed to a location on his map.

"Once you're there, you are going to begin recon on Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters."

"A school?" I asked in confusion.

"Yes, Hall, a school. But this isn't just any school. We believe that this school is an illegal holding ground for mutants. We think that the Headmaster, Charles Xavier, is gathering mutants there and creating his own army. Weapon Plus can't have that, man!"

"Why not?" Malcolm asked. I was surprised that he even cared.

Suddenly, a voice came over the loud speaker in the room.

_"Weapon Plus is not against mutants, as you know. However, we cannot condone a single rich member of society attempting to corral mutants in this way. The high level of mutant energy in the area is perceived as a threat by the United States Government and must be stopped. However, that is not our only goal for this mission."_

Instantly, the picture of a man appeared on a projector in the front of the room. He was short and hairy with an incredibly mean look on his face.

_"This is James Howlett." _Colcord's voice rang out again. _"He was among the first of Weapon Plus' human subjects. Born with bone claws and an extremely effective healing factor, he volunteered for adamantium bonding. The process was an incredibly success. However, one of the general in charge of the operating wanted him executed afterward. Unfortunately, he caught wind of the general's plans and escaped the Weapon X facility."_

"Is that why you're face is so fucked up?" Malcolm asked him smartly.

_"Watch your tongue, Shade, before I cut it off." _Colcord replied shortly._ "Anyway, after his escape, he seemingly lost any memory he had of this place. Now, it only appears to him in his dreams. However, we are afraid that Xavier will return his memories to him."_

"How is that even possible?" Dani replied.

_"Xavier is believed to be a telepath, someone with the ability to invade someone's mind and search through it. With this ability, we believe that it is possible for him to search Howlett's mind and return his memories to him. If he does that, we are sure that he would go to the facility where he was held. We can't have that happen."_

"Great." I replied, already not liking our chances against him. "So what are we going to do?"

"Glad you asked!" Deadpool screamed out. "Shade, your assignment is case the perimeter of the Institute. We believe that Xavier's extensive resources allow him to create extensive security systems. However, we believe that they are not going to be able to detect you moving around out there. Wolf, you are to utilizing your small bird transformations to get close to the school. Try and find Howlett and trace his movement."

"What about me?" I asked, noticing he had neglected to give me an assignment.

"Hold on, man, I'm getting to it. But, first, more information! YAY! Howlett now calls himself Logan as a result of his lost memories. However, we have reason to believe that with his stay at Xavier's, he has also assumed a code name: Wolverine. He still has those giant metal claws that these dudes gave him and he doesn't seem to have aged very much so we're sure he will still look like this, which I think is fuckin' weird."

"Wait, he doesn't age?" Malcolm asked. "Why not?"

_"We believe that his healing factor has slowed down his aging by constantly healing him back to his physical prime. However, we do believe that eventually his body will begin to lose the ability to return all the way back to his prime. Still, we're looking at a life expectancy of 400 or 500 years."_

"Wow." was all I could say.

"No kidding." Dani whispered quietly next to me.

"Speaking of which, that's where we need to get to your assignment." Wilson said as he approached me. Suddenly, he leaned in and whispered in my ear. "Colcord wants to talk to you in the next room."

"Why?" I asked with concern.

"Not sure, man. I would just fuckin' go and get it over with." he said, not a hint of humor in his voice.

So, I stood and slowly walked to the door at the end of the room. I opened the door and walked in to notice that there was no one in there. Finally, I heard his voice over the Intercom.

_"I'm not in the facility right now, Hall. Did you actually expect me to be there?"_

"For some reason, yes, I did. But that doesn't matter now, what's the deal?"

_"When we did your initial testing after you were brought here, we noticed something about a power that lie dormant within your pre-existing mutant abilities."_

"Which is what?" I asked. After two months, I was definitely sick of playing Colcord's games.

_"Regardless of blood type, your blood could absorb any foreign blood."_

Whatever I had been expecting, it hadn't been that.

"That's it?" I asked, confused. I really wasn't sure what made that so special.

_"If the other person's blood was a mutant, you would absorb their abilities as well."_

"Oh."

_"We know that you are a good fighter but we also know what Wolverine is capable of. Due to his healing ability, his chances of having any real weakness that you can exploit are slim to none. But, we could put you on an even footing."_

"How?" I asked, eager to survive my fight against someone that seems to be invincible by all accounts.

_"We have his blood here."_

"His healing factor?"

_"Yes. It would be a difficult process for you. His ability is incredibly complex and it could require as much as a month's recovery time for you after the procedure is done. However, if it successful, you would be able to heal at a level even higher than his due to your lack of adamantium within your system."_

"Do it." I replied back sharply.

_"So eager. If it is unsuccessful, there are signs that it would shut down your immune system and kill you." _Colcord informed me bluntly.

"I'm already dead, remember?"

_"We'll do it tomorrow."_

* * *

The next day, I had been strapped to a table with needles everywhere. Unfortunately, they believed that I had to be awake for my mutant power to be active and so I would have to sit through this procedure. Also, due to the speed that my body would need to absorb the ability before it started to destroy my immune system, they couldn't drug me.

The procedure was actually pretty simple. They would take samples of Howlett's blood and then they would insert it into various parts of my body. From there, they believe the reaction will occur once the blood gets back to my heart. So probably within fifteen or twenty seconds after the blood is in.

Suddenly, a doctor walked in and began to wash up. I knew that this meant that we had to be getting close. Finally, he turned around and spoke simply.

"Let's get it done." he said to his team.

Instantly, the room went to work, manning their stations. For some reason, the doctors seemed sure that my body would still try to kick the blood out of my system and so all the nurses in the room were on standby with blood of my natural type to be pumped into me if Wolverine's blood didn't stick.

Within moments, the doctor was next to me, obviously ready to begin.

"This is going to hurt like hell. Are you ready?" he asked, obviously concerned.

"It's now or never, right?" I asked, trying to make light of the pain that I knew I was going to feel.

"Sure." he said as he grabbed a mouth-guard and placed it in my mouth. "You're going to need that."

Once he was done prepping the blood for injection, he turned and simply pressed a few buttons on the computer panel next to him. Instantly, twelve needles at various points of my body plunged inside of me. The combined pain that each of these incredibly large needles created seemed to overload my brain. However, after just a matter of seconds, the infusion was done and the needles were removed.

I had needed that mouth-guard for that? I felt next to nothing. I was in the process of trying to spit the mouth-guard out of tell the doctors this when I noticed something. Two things, actually. First, they were all still looking at me, as if they were waiting for something terrible to happy. Second, I noticed that the pad of my left big toe felt like it was on fire. Then, it was the next one. Pretty soon, it was the whole foot.

Then, in an less than an instant, I felt my whole body rock. Pain shot through every fiber of my being and every molecule in my body. I could hear the voices of the doctors around me but couldn't distinguish what they were saying. Panic and pain were the only words my brain knew and they were shooting them into my thoughts at maximum speeds.

Finally, I feel like my body couldn't take it anymore. After spending nearly a minute trying to fight my way through the pain, I finally gave in and passed out.

* * *

The light hurt my eyes. I felt like I hadn't opened them in a long time.

"What time is it?" I asked, feeling the disuse in my voice as I spoke. Somehow, I knew that no matter where I was, I wasn't alone.

"9:45 PM on June 29. You've been unconscious for twenty-one days." the voice seemed familiar but I just couldn't place it.

"Wow." was all I could bring myself to say.

"Yeah, we've been training for emergency situations without you."

Suddenly, I knew the identity of my visitor.

"Dani?" I asked, still trying to work my eyes.

"Yeah, now relax, otherwise the doctor is going to make me leave." Dani said softly.

"How long have you been visiting me?" I asked, obeying her command to stop trying to force my eyes to work.

"Every day since you went through the procedure."

"Why?"

She took a moment before she answered.

"Well, you're the only person in this place that's ever been decent to me. I mean, Malcolm basically tried to rape me last week with you gone."

Suddenly, my body reacted to my every command and all at once, my eyes opened and I shot up in my seat.

"What?" I demanded of her.

"Shhh! I was in the shower and he somehow snuck into my room and tried to convince me to have sex with him. Lucky for me, I can turn into a panther." she said with a small smile on her face.

"God, when we get out of here, I'll kill him." I replied in disgust.

She laughed a bit before she replied.

"You know we're never actually getting out of here, right?"

The bluntness in her voice brought be back to Hell.

"You're right."

_"Ahh, Lt. Hall, I'm glad to see that you are awake." _Colcord's voice rang through the room. _"Now, Ms. Stockwell, if you would."_

"What?" I said as I turned to her.

"I'm sorry..." she whispered.

"For what?" I asked sharply.

"For this."

Suddenly, she began to transform. Within moments, her skin had turned to dark black fur and her clothes had merged with her skin to form a large black chest plate. Seconds later, her transformation was complete and I was standing face-to-face with an adult gorilla.

_"You've survived. Now, let's see if you can heal."_

Instantly, what felt like a Mack Truck hit me in the chest, throwing me against the wall. As I began to stand up, I noticed that one of my ribs was sticking out of my side. She had really gone for the kill. I made a mental note that if I survived the gorilla thrashing that I would kill her in person later. Despite my injuries, I stood and faced her again.

"Come on, Dani!" I said as I sprinted, albeit it with a slight limp, towards the other end of the long room.

She quickly accepted my challenge and sprinted towards me. I knew that I was at a distinct physical disadvantage. She outweighed me by at least 200 pounds and was still probably just as fast as I was. But, she still didn't have the years of combat experience I had. So, as I got in close, I grabbed two bed pans and began my defense.

She quickly swung one of her big, black paws towards my head. I swiftly ducked beneath it and used it to my advantage. I jumped up into the air and smashed her head between the two bed pans, causing her to stumble backwards in pain. Suddenly, I looked down and noticed that the rib that had been sticking out of my stomach before was now gone, healed back into its normal place.

But, something else was also different. I was stronger and faster and more agile than I had ever been before, which was saying something. Even at my best, an attack like I just threw out wouldn't have affected a gorilla that much. However, in my new state, I could stand toe-to-toe with Dani in her transformed form and beat her.

However, there was something else in me. Something I couldn't explain. Power.

_"That's enough. Thank you, Dani."_

As he said that, I saw the gorilla begin to shrink back down to the size of my best, and only, friend in this whole facility. She was bleeding from her nose, which may or may not have been broken, and she had a rather large raspberry on her head but beside that she was fine.

"Sorry about the beating." I said to her from across the room.

"Sorry for the ambush." she replied softly.

_"Hall, how do you feel?" _

"Great." I said to nowhere. "I seem to have absorbed some of Howlett's other abilities. I feel faster and stronger."

_"Wonderful. We were hoping for that. Do you feel that you are ready for your mission?"_

I turned to Dani, who nodded slowly.

"As soon as we finish briefing, we'll be ready to go."

_"Briefing will begin immediately. Team Plus, you are field approved."_


	10. Moving In

**June 17, 2009**

**7:49 PM**

**Danbury, CT**

A week after waking up from my surgery, Team Plus was moved to a small apartment in Danbury, CT, just twenty minutes from Salem Center, NY, home of the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, the place that we were apparently going to be scoping out.

"Man, this place sucks." Malcolm whined as he finished unpacking the few personal effects we were allowed to bring with us.

"Yeah, it really does." Dani replied. "But there's nothing we can do about it, so shut the fuck up."

We had only been in the apartment a few hours and I was already getting sick of their bickering. After discovering Malcolm's attempt to seduce Dani, he and I had nearly come to blows a few times, the most recent time literally minutes after we started moving stuff into the apartment. In order to maintain our cover that we were juniors at West Connecticut State University, we had been forced to move everything in on our own. Apparently Colcord planned to call us with our orders later in the day.

The apartment wasn't very big and even less living space. There were three bedrooms in it. However, we were using one as a staging area and arsenal so only two of the bedrooms were available to be used. This meant that Dani and I shared the larger room under the cover of being in a relationship and leasing out the extra room to our friend. It was a situation that both of us appeared to be fairly comfortable with. I certainly wasn't complaining.

Finally, nearly an hour after the last words spoken, the three of us finished putting everything away in our sparse apartment. Colcord had agreed to let us move freely within the Danbury city limits, leaving only for recon missions to the Xavier Institute. So, Dani and I planned to go to the nearest store to pick up somethings that would maybe make this small hellhole more livable.

We were about ten minutes into the walk to the store when Dani spoke up.

"Take my hand." she said swiftly.

"What?" I replied in shock.

"Colcord would be pissed if we went out in public and didn't hold up our cover. Now, take my goddamn hand."

Realizing she was correct, I carefully grabbed her hand and took it in mine. It definitely didn't feel natural at all and he knew it was something they would need to work on in order to convince the locals that they were who they said they were.

"Why do you think that Colcord put us in an apartment? He could have just moved us to a different facility." I asked her quietly, doing my best to keep my voice from carrying.

"I think he really thinks that one day, we'll trust him and volunteer to work for Plus. He obviously thinks he's a mastermind."

"He's also lying to us." I admitted to her.

"What do you mean?"

"Back when I was on trial, my lawyer said that she had been hired to defend me by a man named Charles Xavier."

"What for?" she asked me.

"This guy apparently wanted me to come work at his school. However, part of me wonders if he didn't know that my trial was fixed." I replied.

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, he directly opposed Colcord and if Howlett is there, maybe he knows about Plus."

Instead of replying with words, Dani just shrugged and led them on further down the road. Suddenly, I thought of a question that I had never thought to ask before.

"How did you get to Plus?" I asked her. "I mean, did they abduct you or what?"

Dani took a deep breath before she responded. I could tell that this wasn't going to be a good story.

"Well, I had been at Plus nearly a full year before they were finally able to get you to come. They kept talking about the convict this and the convict that. I don't think they wanted Malcolm and I to know who you were for some reason. But, about fourteen months before you came, I was volunteering at a animal shelter in Denver, which is where I'm from."

"Really, Denver?"

"Yeah. Although realistically, this is just where I was from. It wasn't home or anything like that. Anyway, I was volunteering and all of the sudden I heard a commotion outside the room I was in. I walked outside to see Wilson and three others standing there. I was getting ready to transform into that polar bear you saw when one of them put me down with a stun gun."

"Wow." I replied in awe.

"Yeah, I woke up at Plus six days later. They treated me fine. I figure they wanted to make sure I was in top shape when you got there. Plus, the one guard that tried to assault me accidentally hit the release button on my power bracelet. The next thing he knew, there was a falcon gauging his eyes out."

"Why didn't you escape?" I replied as we finally reached the small store that we had been headed for.

"Wade shot me with a tranq dart before I could escape."

"Damn."

"No kidding." she replied with a sad chuckle. "Although I am glad that you came around. If it had been just me and Malcolm for any longer, I probably would have tried to kill myself."

"Well, you happen to be the only bright spot in my life too." I replied with a smile.

"Guess we're both lucky."

* * *

Nearly two hours later, Dani and I walked out of the store with several bags of food and small decorations. I wasn't one for interior decorating and I didn't get the feeling that she was either. However, I also knew that we both felt the need to customize our living arrangements as much as we could, just to give ourselves something to do.

By the time we reached the apartment, we were both throughly exhausted and ready for bed. Unfortunately, our new roommate could not be held in the same regard. As we walked in the door, we both saw that there were several empty beer bottles strewn all over the living room floor and that he had another in his hand as he sat there and waited for them.

"How was your date?" he slurred.

"Funny, Malcolm." Dani replied. "I see you had a good evening."

"Fuck you, you whore." Malcolm raged. "I wasn't talking to you. So, how 'bout it, Ghost? Did you get a quickie or something?"

"Go to bed, Malcolm." I replied, angered by his tone and his use of my codename. "We can't have you breaking our cover on the first day."

"Fuck our cover, man!" Malcolm screamed as he stood quickly. "What the hell am I supposed to do about our cover? You two run this fucking show! You have to go and fuck her to keep our cover! What the hell do I get to do? Sit on the fucking couch while you guys fucking do whatever you want!"

"We aren't doing anything." I replied calmly. "I've never slept with Dani and I don't plan on it."

"Definitely." Dani chimed in.

"Fuck you two. I would fuck her if I were you."

"You are an animal." I replied harshly.

"No." he replied with a vile look on his face. Suddenly, he made his way quickly to her and looked at her hungrily. "She's the animal."

In the moment after that, something inside me snapped and I went into a rage that I had never felt before. With all the power that I had, I reared back and leveled Malcolm with a single left haymaker. Suddenly, I looked at him laying on the floor, nearly unconscious, and noticed something. Whereas before, I could always see anyone's weaknesses, I couldn't anymore.

_"As I thought, when you rage, you lose your ability to utilize your inherent abilities."_

As I heard Colcord's voice play over a speaker somewhere in the room, I was instantly brought back to the world and noticed that Dani had grabbed me from behind and pulled me into a crushing embrace.

"What are you doing?" I chided.

"Trying to calm you down."

"By squeezing me to death?"

"Before my parents died, they used to squeeze me as tight as they could when I was angry or sad. I saw your anger and thought it might help." she admitted lowly.

"Not bad." I replied with a smile before turning my attention to the voice. "A side effect of the ability?"

_"Yes. It appears that Howlett's berzerker rage manifests inside you as well. As long as you are clear-minded, you will still be able to use your ability to analyze weakness. However, if you go into the rage, any other abilities that you may inherit will shut off."_

"Great." I replied before turning back to Dani. "You ready for bed?"

Dani slowly nodded before looking back to the floor at Malcolm.

"What should we do with him?"

"Leave him here." I fired back harshly. "He'll wake up sometime in the middle of the night.

"Yeah, but then he'll turn to vapor and hover into our room."

"True." I admitted. "There's only the one vent in there and the cracks in the door, I think we can cover those before we go to bed."

"Great."

_"You will get your orders at 9 AM tomorrow morning. Be ready."_

* * *

After a half hour of taping up the vent and pressing stuff into the cracks in the door, we were finally ready for bed. I began to grab pillows and blankets and lay them on the floor when Dani spoke up.

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked.

"Setting up my bed. I figure we could alternate who gets the bed, but I'm used to sleeping on a prison bed too or even the desert floor so hardwood is no problem."

"Or, I have a better idea."

"What?" I replied in confusion.

"You could get up here and stop being such a prude." Dani replied sharply.

"Well, I don't want to cramp you or make you think I was making a move on you."

Suddenly, Dani smiled the biggest smile I had ever seen her use.

"Maybe I want you to make a move on me."

"I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. Maybe I don't want to be the guy who's just available."

Finally, Dani seemed to relent.

"Fine. Get up here though. I don't want you sleeping on the floor." she replied.

"OK." I said as I got up and fell into the bed.

"Also, you should remember that I'm the only girl available."

"Like you would let me forget."


	11. The Xavier Institute

**June 18, 2009**

**9:19 AM**

**Danbury, CT**

"When the hell is he going to call?" Dani asked as we ate breakfast. Currently, I had a mouth full of Lucky Charms so answering her was going to be difficult. Fortunately for me, as I spent my time trying to swallow a whole spoonful of cereal, Colcord's voice rang out.

_"Good morning, Team." _Colcord said from nowhere. _"I trust you slept well. However, I think, Wolf, that you are trying to hard to use your cover."_

So, there were cameras here. I figured as much but now there was proof. A quick look at Dani and the look on her face, red and bashful, was all I needed to prove my assumption correct.

_"Now, onto business. Ghost, did you do the prerequisite research on the facility last night?"_

"Yes." I replied. "The building itself was built sometime before the Revolutionary War and has been there since. Xavier hasn't done any cosmetic changes since he moved into the house nearly fifteen years ago. However, I went through one of the US graphing satellites and discovered that there is nearly 60 feet of hollow ground underneath the building itself."

_"What is its usage?"_

"I'm not sure. We won't be able to check until we get there. However, I suspect that its being used to train mutants to control their powers better."

The last part of that was an obvious lie. After spending last night laying in bed thinking, I had come to the realization that this Xavier guy wasn't just a teacher. He had wanted me, a military expert, to come teach at a school. What was I going to teach?

Also, a quick look at the Forbes list of the richest men in America told me that Charles Xavier was worth nearly 3 billion dollars. Someone with that much change was just a teacher or a headmaster for a school? I found that all to be very convenient.

Finally, Weapon Plus wasn't interested in this guy for no reason. We were a non-existant Black Ops team and we were looking at a school? Within the last week, the mysterious mutant team only known as the X-Men had been seen twice in New York City, only an hour and a half drive away. Also, there were rumors that a man within the X-Men had claws growing out of his hands, ironically very similar to the man we were supposed to be hunting down.

No, we weren't going to go look at a school and we certainly weren't just looking for one mutant. We were spying on the X-Men.

_"Are you sure, Ghost?" _Colcord chided waking me from my stupor.

"Like I said, we can't be entirely sure until we case the place."

I wasn't sure why I was lying. This guy had kept me out of prison. Granted, he had traded one cell for another for six months but it was better than being tortured everyday in the vault. Something inside me just didn't like the fact that we were going to be spying on a team of mutants that were trained to be a mutant task force and a tool for good.

Every time they were seen, more reports came out that they were evil and caused destruction. That sounded like a load of bull and anti-mutant sentiment to me.

_"Well, you will be leaving at exactly 11:40, which should put you in Salem Center around noon. Once you are there, here are your directions: Shade, you are to find an access vent of some kind. Preferably look for one that a person could fit in. Wolf, transform into some kind of bird of prey and survey from the sky. I want a look at the defense around the perimeter. Ghost, you are sitting in town, listening for any word of Xavier. You'll find documents that state that you are reporter for the Washington Times in your gear. Take one firearm with you."_

"Sounds good." I replied.

"About fucking time we get out of here." Malcolm added.

_"Just do your jobs." _Colcord shot back before a click was heard insinuating that he had hung up the phone.

The moment he was gone, Dani looked at one of the cameras and then outside. _We need to talk. _And way from the microphones and cameras certain to be in the apartment.

"Malcolm, Dani and I are going to take a walk." I said while miming towards the cameras. "Do you want to come?"

Initially, he didn't understand what I was pointing at and the angry look on his face seemed to insinuate that he still remembered what I had done to him the last time we had come back from a walk. However, he suddenly looked at the cameras and a look of realization came over him.

"Sure. It'll be good to get out before the mission."

Quickly, I grabbed our key and walked outside, away from the watchful eyes of Weapon Plus. Once we were a safe distance away from our building, Dani spoke up.

"Alright, Lance, why did you lie to Colcord?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." I lied.

"Yes, you do." she fired back. "There was one basement and then other one ten feet underneath surrounded by six feet of steel and lead. We weren't even able to get a good look at the schematics or the layout because of the lead. They're obviously using it for something more than just training mutants to use their powers."

"Oh, that."

"Yeah, that."

"Well, do you find it the least bit ironic that we're spying on a bunch of mutants? A group of mutants, I might add, that live in a house owned by a billionaire human rights activist with a last initial of X."

"What does that even mean?" Malcolm asked.

"The X-Men." Dani answered.

"Exactly. While I think that Weapon Plus does want to get back at Howlett, Logan, or Wolverine or whatever you want to call him, I think the main purpose of us being here is spying on the X-Men."

"Why do you think they're the X-Men?" Malcolm asked again.

"Howlett has claws. Reportedly, there's a guy on the X-Men with metal claws on the team. Also, Xavier? X-Men? I feel like it is too convenient."

"So, the big question is: why did you lie to Colcord about that? Aren't the X-Men some like destructive mercenary team?"

"That's what they want you to think. But, think about this: when was the last time you heard a good news story about mutants?"

Instantly, both of them went silent as they thought about it. Moments later, they both gave up.

"Exactly. You know what I think? I think that they're a task force like the Avengers. But, I think that they're mutants and so the government won't sanction them."

Both of them went quiet as they thought about the ramifications of what I said.

"So what are we going to do?"

"Xavier is a known associate of Henry "Hank" McCoy, a former scientist and technological expert who grew blue hair and the body of a large cat. I believe that McCoy is currently living and teaching at the Institute."

"What does that have to do with us?" Malcolm asked.

"Xavier is ironically a peaceful man, always preaching peace. I think that if we attack and are unsuccessful, they won't kill us. However, they will capture us. If we can convince them that we aren't going to turn them in, we may be able to get them to trust us. Maybe they can get these ankle bracelets off of us."

"You're saying that you want to get intentionally captured and hope that Weapon Plus doesn't blow us on the off chance that some techo-geek is living at the school and would actually be willing to take our anklets off?"

I laughed for a second before I replied.

"Well, when you say it like that, you make it sound like I'm crazy."

"It is what you want to do, right?" she asked with raised eyebrows.

Finally, I spoke the truth about what I wanted. I had spent months trusting her and sometimes Malcolm, they deserved to know what I was thinking.

"I killed over forty US soldiers, including my best friend. I took out my brother's leg. I was convicted of treason and watched as my brother killed himself. I did all of this in the name of my country. After the fact, I find out that my country manipulated me into doing all of this so I would join and lead their mutant Black Ops team."

"We know that, Lance. That still doesn't explain why you plan on trying to get us killed." Dani replied with a smile.

"I think we're spying a peace-keeping mutant team. I'm done following orders that I don't agree with. Following orders got me here. If I die trying to escape, then that's fine with me. You guys don't have to follow me but I'm done with Weapon Plus."

Both of them stared at me like I was completely crazy. Thankfully, Dani smiled at me.

"I'm with you." she said with that great smile. Both of us looked at Malcolm.

"Dude, I don't know, man. Weapon Plus won't let us go easy."

"Does that matter?" I asked him. "I'm a dead man already. I was declared dead four months after my trial. Granted, I was given an honorable discharge from the army but I'm dead already."

"But, I wasn't." Malcolm shot back. "I was sitting and rotting in jail. This place has give me a purpose. I know I fucking hate this place most of the time but it sure as hell beats sitting in a jail cell."

"We're still in a jail cell!" Dani cried out. "This one just moves."

"I'm doing it, Malcolm. If you aren't going to join us, then just stay out of our way. I wouldn't want to have to come back and kill you."

Malcolm nodded as they finished up their walk and entered the apartment again.

"Alright, let's get our stuff packed up and ready to go." I said, returning to our act.

"Yeah, I'm going to take a shower." Dani said. "Then, we can get the hell out of here."

* * *

**11:40 AM**

The three of them had packed in the small car that Plus had provided for their occasionally trips to Salem Center. The car had a chip in it that allowed it to determine how far off course from Salem Center the car got. Any further than four miles and the car would issue a warning accompanied by a call from Wilson or Colcord. If the call was ignored, the car was shut off, the doors locked, and security was called. Like that was going to keep three mutants, particularly one who could turn into vapor, another who could transform into a bear, and one with mild super strength and a healing factor, in.

We figured that the car had both microphones and cameras in it so we made no mention of our plan until we got to Salem Center twenty-five minutes later. Once we got our gear and got out, I turned to the other two.

"Made up your mind?" I said to Malcolm.

"I think I'm gonna sit this one out." he said softly. This was the most thoughtful I had seen him in the months since we had met. Although there was no love lost between the two of us, I was upset that he was going to give himself up to Weapon Plus so easily.

"Fine with me." Dani said harshly.

"Dani.." I chided. "Are you sure?"

Malcolm nodded his head slowly as he got back into the car.

"I'll wait a couple hours and then tell Colcord that you got captured by the X-Men. Hopefully, you've convinced them to get those anklets off of you by then."

"Give us until 6 o'clock." I replied.

"Will do." Malcolm said before closing the door and starting the car back up again. The pair of us watched as he drove off into the distance. Finally, when he was out of sight, I turned to Dani.

"Well, you ready to do this."

"How will we get them to let us in?" she asked me.

"I'm not sure. Something will come to me when we get there." I answered simply.

For the next forty minutes, we were both silent as we walked towards the Xavier Insitute for Higher Learning. It was located a few miles out of town. However, once we got nearly to the front gate, my Weapon Plus cell phone rang.

_"Would you kindly tell me what the hell you think you're doing?" _Colcord screamed into the phone as I answered. I had been prepared for this, knowing that we weren't going to get away so easily. With a deep breath, I began my story.

"We know who we're looking in on." I replied simply.

_"You don't know anything."_

"X-Men doesn't ring any bells."

The silence on the other end of the phone gave me my answer.

_"Continue."_

"I brought my long range camera lens with me. As we drove in, I had Wolf take a look at it. The place is surrounded by cameras. There's no way that they wouldn't notice a hawk or falcon or whatever she chose circling the building. Especially since Howlett's increased sense of smell would let him smell passed her disguise and sense her."

_"So, what is your back-up?"_

"We had Malcolm take the car to the other end of town while the two of us use our cover to get close to the building. We're posing a couple looking for a new place to live to start a family. We're hoping that we can use this cover to gain access to the grounds and gain an audience with Xavier."

_"How can you be sure that he won't read your mind?"_

"By giving him nothing to worry about. We don't mention mutants or anything like that. We simply come off as a young, happy couple that wants to send our kids to the best school in the area."

_"How long do you plan on taking? Are you going to attempt to gain access to the school itself?"_

"We hope so. At the very least, we would like the opportunity to look around the perimeter for weaknesses."

I was greeted with silence on the other end of the phone as I looked at Dani who looked just as nervous as I felt.

_"You have until three o'clock. We will tell Malcolm to meet you at the other end of town. If you haven't exited the premise by 3:30, your anklets will be detonated."_

"Great. Ghost, out." I said as I hung up the phone. I turned to Dani who had the largest grin on her face. Without her saying anything, I knew what she was thinking. _We got it._

After another five minutes, we reached the front gate where there was simply a small voice box with a microphone to speak into. I hit the call button and waited for a few moments before a voice spoke back.

_"My name is Bobby. What can I do for you?"_

Finally, we were ready. Dani was the first to break the act and spoke up instantly.

"My name is Dani and this is Lance. We want to join your school."

Silence was the reply, which we seemed to be getting a lot of today.

"I'm sorry. That's not possible. You appear to be older than high schoolers and-"

"Cut the crap, Bobby. We _know _what goes on in there." Dani interupted.

"How would you know that?" the voice replied harshly.

Finally, it was my turn.

"Ever heard of a program called Weapon Plus?"

Instantly, an alarm somewhere off the distance sounded and a small group of people rushed out of the main building and sprinted across the lawn. As they approached, I saw that they were led by the man we were here to hunt. James Howlett, Logan, or with the look his eye right now, Wolverine. He sprinted at unhuman speed across the lawn and as the gate opened, he stopped before me in an instant, grabbed my shirt, and hoisted me off the ground.

"Start talking, bub, before I decide to do something nasty." he growled at me.

"Logan." came a stern voice from behind him. I look down to see a man with a single visor covering his eyes and a stern look behind it. "Put him down."

Slowly, Logan seemed to come to his senses and slowly placed me on the ground. The man with the visor stepped forward.

"I'm going to say this once. Did you say you were from Weapon Plus?"

"Yes." I replied uncertain that admitting that was a good thing to do.

"Why are you here?"

Suddenly, the spunk returned to Dani next to me.

"Do you mean why were sent here or why are we actually here?" she asked.

"Both." Logan roared from behind the man.

"Well," I started. "We were sent here to kill James Howlett."

Instantly, Logan launched himself forward at me with his claws barred. Before I could react, the claws in his left hand had buried themselves in my stomach accompanied by a great roar. As he pulled his hand away, I fell to the ground, clutching the wound. Then, as everyone watched, the bleeding stopped and the wounds closed up, leaving three unexplained holes in my shirt.

"My blood." Logan whispered softly.

"I was saying..." I grunted due to the pain I had felt. "we were sent here to kill Logan. We came here because we wanted to escape Weapon Plus."

"What made you think that we would do anything here?"

"Because you're the X-Men." I replied simply.

Suddenly, an uncomfortable shift and chill ran through the group of people in front of me.

"Not to be a nuisance or anything but we have these anklets on and if we aren't out of here by 3:30, they're going to explode."

"I'm sorry but there's nothing we can do about that." the man with the visor said.

"What's your name?" I asked him.

"Mine?"

"Yes."

"Scott Summers." he replied softly.

"Alright, Scott, here's the deal. I have done as much research as I could about Weapon Plus in the last few days. I used the access that we had to their databases and used it against them. I know for a fact that somewhere inside this school is Hank McCoy and I know for a fact that he can get these anklets off of us."

Again, they were silent. I imagine that they probably weren't used to being caught unaware. Hopefully, this would be the last time we would do something like this to them.

"If you let us in, you can put us somewhere hidden in that large sub-basement you have." I said to looks of surprise. "I know more about you and Weapon Plus than anyone else in the world. Let us in, get these anklets off of us, and we'll give you everything we know."

Suddenly, the exotic looking black woman who had largely observed what had happened without reaction spoke up.

"Are you Lance Hall?" she asked with a rich African accent.

"Yes." I replied softly.

Again, a look for uncomfortableness came upon all of them.

"He's the one the Professor was talking about." she told the rest of her group.

"Charles Xavier paid for my attorney during my trial. He wanted to get me off so that way I could teach here. Ask him yourself."

_"He is correct." _a voice said in my head. Due to the look on everyone else's face, including Dani's, I wasn't the only person who heard the voice.

_"I paid for Ms. Walters to represent him. He is from Weapon Plus and he has at least a general idea of where it is at. Let him in."_

* * *

Twenty minutes later, I had been blindfolded and taken to a lab somewhere in the sub-basement. I knew this because we went on an elevator at some point and there were no windows in the room we were currently in. However, there was a large blue primate-cat thing that I could only assume was Dr. McCoy.

"Hank McCoy?" I asked as he worked on the anklet on my feet. He continued to work on the equipment without speaking.

"Dr. McCoy?" I asked again. Finally, he looked up at me and spoke.

"Dr. McCoy? No one has calmed me that in years." he said in a deep voice.

"Can you get this off?" I asked, pointing to the anklet.

"Oh yes. In fact, it should only take a few more moments." he replied warmly. I looked to the other side of the room where Dani was. She was being worked on by a tall, beautiful redhead.

"Who's that?" I asked.

"That?" he said, looking over his shoulder. "That is Jean Grey-Summers, one of the senior teachers here. She's also married to Cyclops."

"Cyclops?"

"Scott. Wears a visor. The man who no doubt met you when you announced yourself to us." he replied.

For a few more minutes, we sat in silence while he worked on the anklet. Then, while in a daze, I heard a click and looked down to see him taking off the bracelet.

"That's going to go off at 3:30." I informed him.

"Oh, they think it will. I left the charge on there but removed the C4. Wherever this is attached to, they'll think it went off without it actually exploding. It should give us more time before they send a team to look for you."

Just as Hank finished up, I saw that Jean had done the same for Dani across the room.

"Now, I've been ordered to take you to the Professor." Jean said softly.

With a quick nod, we followed her out of the room and down the hallway into another room. Seated inside and looking at giant holographic map of the world was balding man in a wheelchair. As we entered, his hand moved to the controls on his wheelchair and he spun around to face us. His face had the look of someone who had seen a lot but hadn't completely given up hope in the world. Or maybe that was just me.

"Dani, Lance, please take a seat." he said as he motioned to the chairs next to him.

"How did you know our names?" Dani asked him as we took our seats.

"I am a telephath, Ms. Stockwell. Normally, I would have had to enter your mind to retreive this information. However, I believe that you expected to have to introduce yourselves to me. Therefore, both of you had this information on the forefront of your thoughts. Only a miniscule level of intrusion of needed to find it."

"Great." I said.

"Mr. Hall, I do apologize that you ended up in this mess. I did my best to ensure that you would not be convicted for your supposed crimes. Unfortunately, Weapon Plus has a much larger reach than I do."

I was shocked to hear him talk about Weapon Plus so openly. So much for Black Ops.

"You know about Weapon Plus?" I asked him.

"Yes." he replied. "Due to your stated mission, you know that Logan has spent a considerable amount of time here. As a result, the forces that be in both Weapon Plus and its predeccesor, Weapon X, have sent numerous groups to retreive or kill him. Remarkably, you are the first ones to ever intentionally give yourselves up to us."

"Well, we didn't exactly volunteer." Dani replied.

"No, I suppose not." Professor Xavier replied. "Here's what we will do. I have one rule with regards to my telepathic ability: never enter a mind without permission. Therefore, I cannot attest to your intentions entirely. However, I do believe you when you say that you wish to join us here. So, I will grant you probationary status at this school. Dani, you will attend classes and earn your GED. From there, you can make your choices as to what you wish to do."

I could see that Dani wasn't happy with being forced to finish high school. I thought that she would be making the right choice to help our case.

"Lance, I will ask you to assist Logan in teaching the tactics and combat class. We do not teach all of the students these classes. Only the select few that we believe will be material to join either of the X-Men teams. Therefore, you will have quite a bit of free time. I encourage you to use this to get to know your colleagues better."

"What about the X-Men?" Dani asked with excitement.

"Lance, you will be added to the current class of probationary members. Dani, the next class opens up in four months. At that time, you will join that class."

Dani looked disappointed at the Professor's decision to treat her like a child and me like an adult. However, she seemed to realize that our survival at the school counted on her cooperation.

"Now, I believe lunch is nearly ready." he said as he rolled his way out of the room. We both quickly got up and followed him to the closest elevator. After a quick trip to the top, we walked out to a cacophony of sound.

Kids were everywhere. Ranging from first graders to seniors in high school, they were everywhere.

"All the students eat their meals at the same time. We do this to increase the commradary between the ages."

As we stood there, three of the people from earlier approached us.

"Scott Summers." the first said, sticking out his hand. "I realize our introduction earlier was a bit hasty."

As we each shook his hand, the next person came forward.

"Sorry 'bout stabbing ya." Logan said as he too extended his hand. I sensed that he wasn't totally being honest with me. However, I did say that I was sent here to kill him. Chances are he's still a bit wary being around me. I need to be careful and make sure I don't piss him off.

"Lance Hall." I replied with a smile.

Finally, the black woman that had spoke up earlier came forward.

"Ororo Munroe, or Storm. I am the Assistant Headmaster at this school." she said warmly.

"Lance Hall. Codename: Ghost." I replied.

"Mr. Hall, Ms. Stockwell," Professor Xavier said as he waved a hand over the room. "Welcome to the Xavier Institute of Higher Learning."


	12. The Danger Room

**June 19, 2009**

**8:44 AM**

I had been up for nearly an hour but I hadn't dared leave my room yet. I wasn't exactly sure what kind of greeting I would get and therefore, I remained in my room, staring out the window at window at the beautiful view of the rolling hills that surrounded the Institute. I had been so excited to be free of Weapon Plus that I could hardly sleep last night. However, late in the night, a horrible thought came to me: What if Weapon Plus came back for us? For a few minutes, I let the question engulf me as fear gripped me. Fortunately, I was able to slip away into my dreams and escape to a Weapon Plus-less world.

Suddenly, a knock on the door shook me from my thoughts.

"Come in."

Seconds later, the door opened and Ororo entered.

"Good morning. How did you sleep last night?"

"Fine. I'm still not used to having privacy. I had my own room at Weapon Plus but there were cameras everywhere there."

Ororo smiled brightly before she replied.

"Well, hopefully you will get used to the privacy again."

"No kidding." I replied. "I expect you didn't come to ask how I slept?"

"Not exactly. Your probationary class meets for combat training at nine o'clock. I'm here to escort you."

"Don't think I can find it on my own?"

"No. I know that you can. However, I thought that you might enjoy the company, considering you only know a few people here."

I smiled, both on the inside and outside. It was rare that someone would actually give a shit about me. It was a nice feeling.

"Sure." I said as I stood up. I had been dressed and ready for the day for nearly forty minutes so I was ready to go. Plus, I figured there was going to be some kind of uniform to wear once we got down there.

Ororo led me out of my room and down the hallway. We got about thirty seconds down the hall before she spoke up again.

"I watched your trial." she said awkwardly.

"Me too." I replied sarcastically.

"It was horrible."

"It wasn't horrible for me until it was over. It was like a fog took over my brain for three months while the trial occurred. Then, I was suddenly in jail."

"Must have been terrible." she said sadly.

"I got here. It ended up working out pretty well." I said with a smile. "There's a lot of good people here."

"Yes, yes there are." she said, flashing her large smile again. Her voice was almost hypnotic as she spoke. It made it very difficult to pay attention to what she was actually saying.

We walked the rest of the way down the hall and back to the secret elevator that led down to the secret sub-basement with the Institute. We were silent as we rode down. As we stepped off, Ororo spoke up again.

"Now, this class of students has been together for a long time. They graduate in less than two months. You are going to struggle to fit in with them. Don't let that frustrate you."

The shocking forwardness of this statement caught me off guard. I was still thinking about it as we turned the corner into a small room that overlooked a large, circular room. Seated inside were four people, two boys and two girls.

"Lance, these are your classmates." she said as she waved her hand to the first kid. "This is Piotr Rasputin, Code: Colossus. He has the ability to transform himself into organic steel."

She had pointed at a handsome man around my age. However, this man was also twice my size. The sheer size of him seemed to make the room more crowded and he looked incredibly menacing.

"Next is Anna Marie, codename: Rogue. She has the ability to take other's powers."

"Please ignore my given name." Rogue said in a sweet Southern accent. "The name is Rogue."

Rogue had dark brown hair that fell straight down to the middle of her back and some of the most beautiful brown eyes I had ever seen. She wore a yellow spandex shirt covered in a brown hiking jacket with black Lycra pants. She definitely looked ready for battle.

"This here is Sean Cassidy, known as Banshee. I think you can probably guess his ability." Ororo said with a smile.

Cassidy had red hair and dressed in a bizarre green body suit with a fabric between the wrists and waist that could only be described as wings. I'm sure that will be explained soon enough.

"Finally, this is Kitty Pryde."

"Shadowcat." she said with a sweet smile. She was definitely the only one that looked happy to see me. She had brown hair and blue eyes, an incredibly unique combination.

"Yes, Shadowcat." Ororo said. "She has the ability to phase through walls."

"Really?" I asked her.

"Yup." she said as she proceeded to stick her hand through the back of the chair in front of her.

"Very awesome." I replied.

"Now, Lance, would you like to introduce yourself?" Ororo asked.

"Sure." I replied mildly unnerved by the thought of speaking up so quickly. "My name is Lance Hall, formerly of the United States Army Rangers."

"Wait, you're that Lance Hall?" Sean Cassidy said through a thick Irish accent.

"Yes." I replied shortly.

"We work with dis man?" Piotr asked Ororo.

"Yes, Lance was framed by Weapon Plus for his actions. He is innocent."

"That's not entirely true." I fired back. "I did what they said I did. However, what never came up was the fact that they authorized my actions."

"Technicality." Cassidy said again. I had a feeling he didn't like me.

"You can think what you want. Anyway, I have the ability to see the weak points or weaknesses in anything."

"What's weak about me?" Rogue asked.

I took a quick look at her and noticed a few things.

"Your right wrist has been broken some time in the last few years. Also, you have a small crack in your skull that I could use against you. Finally, you broke your right leg at some point and it didn't heal 100% correct. It could be a problem if someone knew about it."

"Great. Tell everyone why don't you." Rogue joked.

"Anything else?" Ororo asked.

Suddenly, a voice spoke up from behind me.

"He's your squad commander and he has my blood."

I turned around swiftly to see Logan standing in the doorway. Normally, no one could sneak up on me. As it was, I thought I had sensed something just before he spoke so maybe he hadn't been able to completely get around that but it was very close.

Logan's words had an incredibly unique effect around the room. Kitty and Piotr looked relatively okay with the whole situation. Rogue and Cassidy, however, both looked upset for completely different reasons.

"He has your blood?" Rogue asked in shock.

"Commander? You have to be joking?" he asked as he rolled his eyes.

Logan stepped forward and spoke harshly, silencing the room.

"Weapon Plus gave him my blood, so he has my healing ability, some of my basic super strength, and heightened senses. Plus, Hall has more combat experience than anyone other than myself in this whole school."

"But he has no idea who we are and how we fight." Cassidy shot back.

Suddenly, Logan stepped out of the room and down the stairs in the back of the room which led to the large, circular area that this small room overlooks.

"Hall, this is the Danger Room. Through Chuck's money, we've been able to afford the best technology in the world. So, this room will create anything we need at any time. Normally, we would use more of it. However, now isn't the time for that. Hall, Cassidy, get down here."

Both of us quickly made our way down the narrow stairs and into the room. I looked up and noticed that the second we vacated the room, everyone stood up and looked into the Danger Room, as Logan had called it. Also, I noticed that there were more people in there that had been in there when we had left. Cyclops and Dr. McCoy had joined Piotr, Kitty, and Ororo in the room watching us.

"Cassidy, Hall, I want you two to use your abilities and fight. First one to knock out the other wins. You can begin when the door closes."

"Are we going to get any weapons?" I asked nervously.

"Nah." Logan replied as he closed the door behind me.

Just as he did, a raging shriek deafened me. I looked over to see Cassidy screaming towards me. His voice appeared to cause a mild amount of paralysis and shock. However, as I took the sound blast, I could feel my body getting used to the incredible sound being launched at me.

Utilizing my healing ability, I began to examine his weaknesses. No formerly broken bones and no weak tendons. He appeared to be in fantastic shape. However, he did have one weakness: his throat. All of his power was derived from being able to make noise. If he couldn't scream, he couldn't attack.

Unfortunately, getting to him would be easier said than done. The force of the sound he was giving off was physically keeping me from moving towards him. This meant that I was going to have to go around and hope that I was fast enough.

Once I determined my course of action, I moved, taking off a dead sprint to the right. Instantly, Banshee moved to counter that. As he moved the blast to in front of me, he finally ran out of air and was forced to breath. I took this time to sprint directly towards him before diving out of the way off another sound blast. Again, the two of us spun around in circles as I avoided his turret styled attack.

Another breath, another step in.

Suddenly, I was within range. Without warning, I launched myself at him, curling my hand up into a fist and firing a strong punch directly at his throat. It landed firmly and did exactly what I had hoped for. The moment the punch landed, Cassidy dropped to his knees, choking for air. Another spun kick to the chest had him planted his back on the ground and a final kick to the head knocked him out.

The moment I did this, Logan stepped back inside the room and approached the two of us. He knelled down to Banshee and shook him awake. Once he was cognizant again, he spoke to him.

"That's the first reason why."

"What's the second?" I asked Logan.

Logan looked up and I saw a fury that only years of pent-up rage could have held.

"Banshee, can you walk?"

He couldn't talk. But, he could nod and stand. After a quick nod, Banshee was on his feet and Logan led him inside the stairs. He returned with two swords.

"You've been trained by Weapon Plus to fight with a sword?"

"Yeah. I still prefer a pistol but I can use it."

"You will not be using guns with the X-Men. Best get used to fighting with this." he said as he threw one of the swords at me. For some reason, I looked up at the booth again. This time, it was packed. All the same people that had been there were still there. However, this time Jean and Dani and a few others I recognized from our welcoming party yesterday stood in there. Apparently, this was a big deal.

"What are the rules?" I asked.

"No rules. First to draw blood." he growled.

"Claws?"

"Only if you break my sword." he said as he assumed his stance.

I knew that I was at a distinct disadvantage. Logan had had years to train while I had only learned to fight with a sword months ago. Also, he had three smaller claws on each hand if he had lost his sword. Fortunately, I did have one, and the most important, advantage: my ability. In a situation like this, I would be able to sense his next attack, almost like precognition. However, I knew that I couldn't rely on it too much. Someone as old and battle-hardened as Logan was bound to have a few tricks up his sleeve.

Logan gave a small bow and then he attacked. Despite being a few inches shorter than me, his reach did not suffer for it. He struck hard and fast and barely gave me enough time to use my ability to fight him.

He struck first with a huge overhand sweep. I countered it and stuck back with a stab towards his stomach. A quick parry and we were off.

From that moment on, we moved fluidly. Each one of us countering and counterattacking and attacking, as if it were a dance. As we got further along into the fight, I thought more and relied more on my natural ability to lead me to my next mark. Sure enough, every mark was right, perfectly countering Logan's perfect counter.

Suddenly, each of us sensed a break and stood a large step back.

"Not bad, Hall." Logan growled, breathing deeply.

"Are you going all out?" I asked him.

All Logan did was nod. Apparently, words were not his strong suit.

"You wouldn't have been able to kill me." he said.

"I wouldn't have wanted to." I said truthfully.

"If you're going to work with us, you have to be willing." Logan replied.

"I wouldn't kill someone I knew was fighting for something I believed in."

Then, before he could respond, I attacked. This time was much different. Instead of quick and sharp attacks, the two of us traded large, sweeping assaults. Both of our attacks got easier to see and for a few moments, we fought to a standstill. Suddenly, I felt his defense weaken. Instantly, I pressed my advantage and within moments, I had gotten my swords in precisely the right place.

With a quick tug, I pulled the sword right out of Logan's hands and as I tracked it in mid-air, I caught it. Without missing a beat, Logan let out a great roar and released his claws.

Again, we launched ourselves forward. Neither of us were willing to give up and so we pressed forward. However, guarding Logan's claws were much different than swords. The shorter length required me to be much more accurate with my defense which forced me to sacrifice some of the power in my attacks to ensure their accuracy. Also, it forced him much closer to me which made the angles of my defense much slighter than they normally would have been.

After ten minutes of frustration, Logan let out a guttural yell and began moving with a ferocity that I hadn't seen out of him yet. In his rage, he forced me completely on the defense, defending against an impressive combination of long stabs and short swipes.

This whole time, I focused on not allowing myself to utilize the same rage that Logan had tapped into. I knew that if I did, I would lose the one advantage I had against this savage fighter: my ability to determine his next strike.

Thankfully, Logan made things easy for me. During one of his strikes, he let his arm stick out for just a hair too long. Taking advantage of this, I swung. As I did, I felt my blade stick against the metal in his bones and heard it connect.

Unfortunately, I also felt the metal of Logan's claws dive deep into my stomach. He had sacrificed his arms to get a kill shot. Thankfully, my healing factor would heal it. However, it still hurt like hell.

I feel to the floor and, for the second time in as many days, clutched the wound in my torso. Logan leaned down and whispered in my ear.

"Be thankful I'm the only person that can do that to you."

"I-I'll remember." I growled through the pain.

Logan turned to the large group in the observation deck.

"Class dismissed." he said to the other probationary students.

As I laid there and caught my breath, I noticed that a large collection of people had come down to the Danger Room floor, including Professor Xavier himself.

"Very good, Lance. I'm impressed to see that you are already so in tune with your ability." he said.

"Thanks." I breathed.

Cyclops stepped forward and shook my hand. Then, he turned to the rest of the people there.

"I thought we should introduce you to the rest of the team. The X-Men are currently split into a four and three person teams. Thankfully, when this probationary class graduates, we will be able to move that to a team of six and a team of five."

"That's great." I said still wincing at the pain I felt in my stomach.

"Blue Team consists of myself, Storm, Hank or Beast as we call him, and Bobby Drake, Iceman." he said, pointing to the group on the right.

"I talked to you on the phone." Bobby said. He appeared to be roughly my age with dark blonde hair and blue eyes. However, he was about six foot tall, significantly taller than me.

"Cool." I replied.

"Gold Team," Cyclops started. "is lead by Jean. It also includes Warren Worthington III or Angel and Wolverine. This is the team you are joining."

Suddenly, my ears perked up.

"Excuse me?"

"I have decided to up the schedule on both you and Dani." Xavier said. "Between the occasion analysis of your feelings and Logan's ability to discern your intentions through a long list of techniques, we believe that you are who you say you are. I know you've only been here a day and therefore you will be put on the bottom of your team. However, we would like to think that you would be able to move up and one day run your own team."

"Why are you so sure?" I asked in confusion. Just hours before, they had made me a probationary member. Now, I was going to be a full X-Man.

"Kid, if you are as good in combat as you were today, we're sure." Wolverine said.

"Now, what codename would you like?" Cyclops asked.

"Codename? I thought my codename was Ghost?"

"It can be." Xavier replied. "However, we assumed that you would want to change it away from your Weapon Plus name."

"That is true." I said as I thought.

"What about Raptor?" said a voice from behind everyone. I looked through to see Dani standing across the room.

"Like the dinosaur?" I asked.

"No. Like a bird of prey. They're among the most adaptive animals on the planet. They fight in low altitude and in high altitude. They attack bird bigger than they are and can see miles further than humans."

"Eh. I'm not sure I like it." I admitted with a smile.

"Well fine." Dani replied with a grin.

"What about Guardian?" Scott suggested.

"I don't know. I think I'm going to keep Ghost." I replied. "Hey, Dani, what's your name?"

"Hawk." she replied simply.

"Perfect." Professor X replied. "I will add those names to the list of both X-Men and probationary X-Men. Dani, you will be required to meet with the new probationary class tomorrow at nine for tactical training."

"Great!" Dani replied with enthusiasm.

"Lance, you will need to talk to Jean and discuss what role you will play on her team. Also, you will need to talk to Scott about your role on the complete X-Men roster. Finally, you will need to meet with me to talk about what you will do with your time outside of the X-Team."

"Will do." I replied.

"Now, I do believe it is time for lunch. Let's all head up to the cafeteria and get something to eat."

* * *

**9:46 PM**

The rest of the day had been spent getting to know some of the members of the X-Men, specifically those that I was going t join on Gold Team. I had met Jean the day before, albeit incredibly briefly. She was easily one of the nicest people I had ever met and seemed to be very calm. I had a good feeling about being on her team. I had also had enough exposure with Logan for quite awhile. However, Warren or Angel as he was called, I had not met.

After talking with him, he appeared to be quite an interesting character. Apparently, his father was Warren Worthington Jr., head of Worthington Industries. As it currently stood, Warren III had access to nearly seven hundred and fifty million dollars. However, in order to use it, his father required him to get a surgery to remove the giant wings on his back.

Around the age of five, Angel began to grow giant bird-like wings that enabled him to fly. For years, he wore a harness that held the wings in and prevented his parents from finding out about them. Unfortunately, when he was sixteen, his father saw him changing and saw the giant wings growing out of his back.

When his father approached him, he ordered Warren to get the surgery to remove the wings. So, in the middle of the night, Warren took off out his window and was found by Professor Xavier nearly eight years ago. He, along with Bobby, Scott, Ororo and Jean, had been a founding member of the X-Men.

Suddenly, just like this morning, a knock on the door shook me from my thoughts.

"It's open." I said to the door.

Slowly, the door opened and Logan stepped inside.

"Come with me." he said before he turned and walked back outside.

Confused, I stood up and followed him outside. We walked in silence towards the front door. However, instead of walking outside, Logan turned right and walked into what I could only assume was a museum of sorts. There were materials and relics from all over the place.

Logan led me right up to a pair of dogtags that read: "James L. Howlett" followed by his ID number.

"The Xavier Institute was created in September 1992. For nearly two years, Chuck couldn't get any students. Then, in 1994, Scott and Jean were both recruited to join the team. They were both juniors in high school who had been exiled from their schools for accidentally using their mutant abilities."

I wasn't sure why Logan was giving me a history of the X-Men but I was listening.

"Next, in 1996, Bobby Drake was brought to the school. The three of them began to work together. At nearly the same time, a college student by the name of Hank McCoy joined the school."

Logan led me across the room to a terrible looking blue and yellow spandex suit.

"This is the original X-Men uniform. Thankfully, we don't have to wear this fuckin' thing anymore."

"No shit."

"Watch your language." Logan growled hypocritically. "Anyway, the four of them were together for quite awhile. Finally, Warren came here in 2001. Six months after his admission into the school, the X-Men were formed."

"So where do the rest of you fit in?"

"Ororo joined only weeks after the X-Men were founded and instantly found herself a leader among the team. Six years ago, I joined the X-Men on leave from Department H in Canada. I left my post there and joined here perminently."

"Why?" I asked. "No offense but a school doesn't seem like the place for you."

"Mind your fuckin' business."

"Watch your mouth." I retorted.

"Don't push me, kid."

"Yeah, anyway. Six years, that seems like a long time for there to be no new members."

"There are a few members that aren't here anymore. Kurt Wagner, Nightcrawler, is a teleporter. He joined with me. Two years ago, he went back home to Germany to find his family."

"Why doesn't he know his family?" I asked.

"Because he looked like a blue demon when he was born." Logan replied bluntly.

"Wonderful."

"Also, Emma Frost initally joined the X-Men three years ago. Almost instantly, she left the school. Apparently, she and Chuck got into a big argument over the merits of their telepathic ability."

"Wait, Xavier's not the only one?"

Logan laughed at my question. It was a strange, almost forced laugh and it kind of freaked me out.

"No, kid. He's not."

"Anymore that I should know about?" I asked him.

"Well, there's the one we don't talk about." Logan replied cryptically.

"Who?"

"Alex Summers."

"Summers?"

"Havok." Logan said as he nodded his head. "One-eyes' younger brother. Left us for the Brotherhood of Mutants."

"The what?"

Finally, Logan got to the one thing in the room he must have wanted to get to. It was a red helmet, fashioned a bit like an old Spartan helmet.

"The Brotherhood of Mutants is our polar opposite. While the X-Men seek to gain mutants rights by using peace and tolerance, Magneto and his Brotherhood believe that the only way we'll get rights is to force humans to be our slaves."

"Who is Magneto?" I asked. What had I gotten myself into? There were so many questions.

"His name was Erik Lensherr and he helped found the Institute with Chuck. Unfortunately, Lensherr eventually left. He too had differences with Chuck out peace. After he left, he took up the personality of Magneto, the master of magnetism. He's the greatest enemy of the X-Men."

"And my best friend."

We both turned to see Charles Xavier rolling into the room.

"He is my one true weakness. I still love Erik like a brother, a lost one at that. I believe that one day, he can be brought back."

"Chuck, you know that ain't true." Logan chided.

"It may be possible yet, Logan."

"What does this have to do with me?" I asked.

"Magneto will come for you." Xavier replied shortly. "He's always watching us. He must know that you are here and he knows that you are perfect foil for Wolverine."

"Come for me? How?"

"He's going to try and bring the mansion down." Logan replied.

"He will send his Brotherhood. Within the next few weeks, we will train you to fight each one of them." Xavier added. "Now, we're getting ready for lights out. Will each you please take your rounds?"

* * *

**11:06 PM**

An hour later, I had settled into my room again. I was just ready for bed when suddenly a third knock on my door woke up.

"Who is it?" I asked loudly.

"Ororo."

"Come on in." I replied as I sat up in bed. Luckily for me, I had decided to actually wear pajamas to bed tonight. That would have been interesting.

Ororo walked in and sat on the edge of my bed. For a couple moments, she didn't speak. Instead, she stared at the floor, deep in thought.

"O, what's up?"

"O? I like that." she said as she looked up.

"Cool. Do you have any other nicknames?"

"When Logan is trying to be cute, he calls me 'Ro. Other than that people just call me Ororo or Storm."

"Well, I'll try and keep you on your toes then." I replied. "But I bet you didn't come to talk about that.

Ororo shook her head as she resumed staring at the floor. Suddenly, she looked up directly into my eyes and spoke.

"What's it like to kill someone?"

I trusted Ororo. Unfortnately, this was my least favorite question in the world to answer.

"Horrible." I replied honestly. "Makes you wish it were you instead."

"Would you do it again?"

"Yes." I answered. "If it meant saving a life or protecting someone I love, I would. But I'm done killing people because someone told me to."

"That's good."

"Why?" I asked her.

"You may need to. If we go on missions, it may be in your best interest. I need to know that we can trust you to not hesitate to pull the metaphorical trigger."

"You'll have it." I replied.

"Also, do you love Dani?"

"No." I answered truthfully. "She was and still is my best friend. But, no, I don't love her."

"That's good." she answered absentmindedly.

"Why is that good?" I asked.

"Are you sure you want to know?" she asked as I nodded. "Well, my room is right next to Dani's. Let me just say that I caught her and Bobby is a rather compromising position earlier today."

"Really? That was quick." I replied.

"Is that like her?"

"It's not too out of the ordinary, I think. She always seems to want attention. She tried to come on to me once, just a couple of days ago."

"Can't say I blame her." Ororo grinned.

"Really?" I said with a smile.

"Well, you are quite handsome."

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

"Not a problem."

Suddenly, Ororo stood up and made her way to the door.

"I'm glad you came." Ororo said with a smile before she walked out of the room. Literally seconds later, Dani walked in.

"What was she doing in here?" Dani asked.

"Just wondering about some X-Men stuff."

"Man, I can't believe that Xavier wouldn't let me on the team." Dani said jealously.

"Live with it, Dani." I replied shortly. "You'll get on the team eventaully, especially if you have Bobby on your side." I added with a wink.

"Seriously? How do you know about that already?" Dani asked in exasperation.

"Your room is right next to the one person who I've talk to more than anyone since we got here."

"Well, it was just a one-time thing." Dani said quickly.

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, it had literally been like two years since I was able to get laid. I just needed it. Bobby was kind enough to comply." she said softly. "Plus, there's someone else I have my eye on."

I suddenly noticed that she was looking at me hungrily.

"Absolutely not."

"What? Why not?" Dani yelled.

"Because I have values and morals." I replied. "I don't want to just fuck everything that moves."

"But don't you want me? We've been together for quite awhile now."

"We have. But that doesn't mean that I want you."

"No. You probably want Ororo." Dani said mockingly.

"Don't talk about her like that." I replied harshly.

"You do, don't you?"

"No. I've only known these people for a day. I can't have feelings like that for someone yet."

Suddenly, Dani walked over to the door and mocked walking in seductively.

"So, you're saying that if I were Ororo walked in here, just like I'm doing now, with no clothes on, you wouldn't do her?"

"No." I replied firmly.

Instantly, Dani jumped on the edge of my bed and got right in my face.

"Why not? We've been locked up for years. You wouldn't just once?"

Finally, I decided to tell Dani exactly why I wouldn't.

"Dani, I've only had sex with one girl. She was my high school sweetheart. I proposed to her at prom of our senior year of high school. We had sex that night."

"Ok. What does this have to do with Storm?"

"I'm getting there." I replied impatiently. "Two weeks before I was due to go to basic, she came to me and told me that she was pregnant. I was so happy. I was going to get married and be a father."

Tears began to run down my face as I told the story. I hadn't shared this with anyone. Not even my best friends in camp.

"Seven months later, I got a phone call, which was rare since I was in Ranger Training. It was my mother."

"What did she say?" Dani asked softly.

"Ellen had had the baby. However, something in my mom's voice wasn't right. Even from miles away, I could tell. I forced her to tell me everything."

"What happened?"

"The baby had been still born." I said without emotion, despite the tears that ran down my face. "Plus, during the delivery, Ellen had hemorrhaged. The doctors did everything they could, but they couldn't save her."

"Oh my god."

"August 25th. On that day, my fiancee and unborn daughter died. I've never even looked at another woman since then. I went home for two weeks to go to their funeral. After that, I couldn't go home. Everyone looked at me with sympathy. Sympathy that I didn't want or need. So, I returned to Training and never went back home."

"Lance, I didn't know. I'm so sorry." Dani said with sympathy.

"That's what I don't need, Dani. I don't need that. That's why I don't talk about it. That's why I worked so hard to get to where I was."

"So what does this have to do with me and Ororo?"

"You look and act too much like Ellen. I can't even begin to be in a relationship with you."

"Really?" Dani replied with disappointment.

"Really."

"Why Ororo then?"

"I haven't chosen anyone, Dani." I replied. "We've only been here a day. I like Ororo. She's a good person and she treats me well. Other than that, I have no idea."

"OK." Dani said as she stood up. "I'm sorry you had to tell me that."

"Don't be. I've been keeping it under wraps for too long."

Dani slowly made her way to the door before she turned back to me.

"Goodnight, Lance."

"Night, Dani."

With that, Dani walked out of my room, leaving me to thoughts of the women in my life.


	13. Homeward Bound

**July 1, 2009**

**8:59 AM**

Day 1 of teaching. Great. Apparently, Xavier needed a math teacher and being the mathematical genius I was, I was selected.

"I think I'm going to have to teach myself this stuff before I teach them." I said out loud at the breakfast table. These kids were lucky they only had classes from 10-1 during the summer. Most of them only had two one hours classes with a few having one two-hour class.

"You'll do fine, Lance." Jean said from across the table.

"Either that or Chuck will throw you out on your ass." Logan said with what I thought was a smile. Whatever it was, it freaked me out.

"Thank you, Logan. I appreciate that."

"Not a problem, kid."

I watched as nearly two hundred kids sat in the cafeteria, eating like everything was normal. And for them, it was. I was glad that there was place like this for mutant kids, a safe haven for them. My dedication to my new home was the only thing that made me agree to teach math to the high school students there.

"So what are your plans for this weekend?" Ororo asked next to me.

"Well, I am going to go visit someone." I replied warily. I had been thinking about this for weeks now and I had finally convinced myself that it was a good idea.

"Really? Professor Xavier is letting you leave?" she replied.

"Yeah. He just told me to be careful." I answered.

"He's right."

"Yeah." I replied absentmindedly.

Suddenly, Ororo put her hand on mine and looked me directly in the eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"It's my family." I admitted. "They're who I'm going to visit."

Ororo leaned back in her chair, not moving her incredibly soft hands from where they had been.

"Yeah." I said. "They think I'm dead."

Suddenly, Ororo leaned in to me.

"You can't go alone." she said softly.

"Why not?"

"I guarantee you that Weapon Plus is watching this place. You'll need someone to drive you." she said with a smile.

"I'm not sure why you're smiling and it makes me nervous." I said with a laugh.

"I'll drive you."

I had decided within the last few weeks at the Xavier Institute that Dani was right. I really did like Ororo. She was sweet and innocent, albeit bright and terrifying when she was using her powers. She was also one of the most beautiful people I had ever seen. Unfortunately, she didn't seem to show any inclination that she felt the same way.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. I would love to meet your family." she said.

"I'm not sure I even want to meet my family right now." I replied. "I guarantee this first time they won't even talk to me."

"Well, it can't hurt to find out."

"True." I replied before I looked at the clock across the room. "I need to go. Class starts at ten and I need to start getting everything ready."

Ororo nodded in approval before she replied.

"Great. As Assistant Headmaster, I may check in on you at some point today to see how you're doing."

"Any chance I could bribe the Headmaster into a good review?"

"Like you'll need it." she said as we both stood up and made our way out of the room.

* * *

**10:00 AM**

As the bell rang, I looked over the room and saw eight students, including a few that would have been from my probationary class. Also, Dani was in my class. I had pulled her aside before she sat down.

"Don't even begin to think you're getting preferential treatment."

"Like I would have expected it." she replied harshly before she took a seat.

She had still been upset about my refusal to sleep/date her.I knew that I was like a substitute teacher right now. I expected hell. However, I decided to not let that affect me.

"Alright, calm down." I said firmly as the class did as I requested and got quiet. "My name is Lance Hall and I'm your new Math teacher."

Instantly, a hand went in the air.

"Yes?"

"Did you kill all those people?" a girl towards the back asked. This was not the first question I expected.

"Yes." I replied simply. "However, I did it under orders. Regardless, we're not here to talk about me, but about you and math. So, what we're going to do is go around the room. Each of you will tell me your name, your power, and your favorite movie."

I walked to the first girl sitting directly in the front row.

"Would you kindly start?" I said to a blonde girl in the front row.

"Sure." she said quietly. "My name is Lorna Dane. I control magnetic fields and energy."

"Interesting. Favorite movie?" I replied, constantly reminding myself to be youthful (although I didn't really have a problem with that) and full of energy.

"Star Wars." she said firmly.

"Wonderful. Great movie." I replied before pointing to the boy behind her. "You next, we'll keep moving back the row."

"Shiro Yoshida. I control solar power and can fly. Favorite movie is Gladiator."

"Very powerful movie." I answered to him. "Next?"

A tall, thin boy with jet black hair answered.

"My name is Gabriel."

"Gabriel what?" I asked.

"Not sure. Don't know who my parents are he answered."

"Oh, I'm sorry." I said, chiding my foolish questioning. "What's your power?"

"Energy absorption and manipulation. My favorite movie is Top Gun."

"A classic man right there." I said with a laugh. Next up was Dani.

"Dani Stockwell. I can tranform into any animal. Favorite movie is The Alibi." she said with a smirk.

"Interesting choice." I replied before moving to the next student in the front row. "Your turn."

"My name is Petra and I control the earth. My favorite movie is The Phantom of the Opera." she replied shyly.

"Great movie." I replied before the next student spoke up.

"Darwin Wilson is the name and Instant Adaptation is the game!" he answered enthusiastically. "My favorite movie is Batman!"

"The original?" I asked.

"Of course!"

The next girl spoke up.

"Suzanne Chen and I can control time. My favorite movie is Mission: Impossible." she said softly.

I looked up and saw Kitty Pryde was next.

"So Kitty was about a movie?" I asked.

"Juno. So funny." she replied instantly.

"If you think so." I replied with a smile. I noticed that in the back of the room, Dani sat with a scowl. I felt that I was going to have to deal with that a lot. Finally, we were down to the last person in the class.

"Jubilation Lee or Jubilee! I control light! My favorite movie is Minority Report!" she answered, nearly yelling everything.

"Relax a bit, Jubilee, will you?" I chuckled as I made my way back to my desk. As I got there, I turned and addressed the class again.

"Today will be a short day. I promise that I will keep working on your names. Give me a couple weeks or even less and I should know all of you." I replied intentionally avoiding Dani's gaze which I saw was trying to burn a hole through my chest.

"Now, here's how classwork will work in this class. Each week, we will have a topic. At the end of each week, we will have a quiz. Then, I will assign a homework assignment for over the weekend. You'll turn them in on Monday and I will return them by Wednesday. Exams will be announced two weeks ahead of time. Now, one more thing."

Instantly, everyone perked up and I knew that I managed to hold their attention at the very least.

"We are going to have fun in this class. I refuse to let this class be like my high school math class. Also, if you have something you wish to discuss with the class, math or not, we can talk about it. This class is going to go how you want it to. Now, we'll continue this tomorrow. Now, get out of here and enjoy the sun."

Lance watched as everyone began to leave. He turned and sat in front of his desk and began to go to work on setting his lesson plans for the next few weeks. Suddenly, he got the feeling that he was being watched. He looked up and noticed Ororo watching him.

"I thought you said that you were going to watch." I asked her.

"I did." Ororo said. "I never said I would watch from the classroom."

She pointed to the corner of the room where the security camera was.

"Ah." I said continuing my work.

"What's up with Dani?" Ororo asked.

"I'm not sure." I said as I put my work away. I knew with that question I wouldn't be able to concentrate anymore. "She doesn't seem to have gotten over the fact that I have no interest in dating her or screwing her or whatever she wanted."

"Well, she'll just have to get used to that. We can't have her sulking all the time."

"I guess she will."

* * *

**July 3, 2009**

**2:14 PM**

"Are you ready to go?" Ororo said as she came running into my classroom. Unfortunately for her, I still had two students finishing up quizzes.

"Ms. Munroe, if you could control yourself, I have some students finishing up." I said with a wink.

"My apologies." she replied as she walked into the room and sat on the edge of my desk. "Anyway, are you read to go?"

"I have to go and get my bag out of my room and then we can go." I replied as Darwin approached with his quiz.

"Are you finished?" I asked him.

"Yes." he said as he dropped the quiz on the pile of others.

"How do you think you did?"

"Good." he said with a smile before he walked out of the door. I looked up to see Dani in the back of the room. Moments after I looked up, she stood up and brought her quiz to the front.

"How was it?" I asked with a smile.

"Don't treat me like one of your students." she said coldly before slamming her quiz down on the desk and storming out of the room.

"Wow." Ororo said.

"Give her some time. She's being sent back to high school against her will. She'll come around."

"I'm sure she will." Ororo responded. "Now, hurry up, it's a ten hour drive to Hartford, OH."

After locking my classroom door, I quickly went to my room and grabbed my bag. Then, we quickly went to the garage. Ororo quickly walked to the best car in the garage, a 2008 Audi TT. As I remembered, it was Scott's and forbidden to touch.

"Scott is letting us take the Audi." Ororo said, reading my mind. "But, he said that if we wreck it, he'll castrate you with his visor."

"Wow, that's an image I did not need." I replied as we got into the car.

"You ready?" she asked as she started the car.

"As ready as I'll be." I said as she pulled out and we started my journey home.

* * *

**11:47 PM**

After nearly ten hours on the road, we finally pulled into tiny Hartford, OH, Population: 410 and my family. For the whole last hour, I had been silent, not knowing what I would say or do when I first saw them. But the worst part is not knowing what THEY would do. As we drove along, Ororo took my hand as I navigated down the small streets.

Two minutes later, a sign that said Evans Street came into view. I turned slowly and drove down the road for two blocks before I pulled into the driveway of a small, blue house. The house wasn't big, definitely not what you would think a retired general living it, but it was home. I shut off the engine and took a deep breath before looking up.

I looked into the front window and saw exactly what I expected. My mom and dad, as was their tradition ever since he retired, watching their Friday night movie on the couch. It had been a little over a year since my conviction and Clark's suicide and still a small American flag hung in the window. However, just as I noticed my brother's memorial, I saw something else that caught my eye.

Just on the other side of the porch was another flag. This one had a picture in front of it with words written below it. There was just enough light from the street light that I could see the picture and text. The picture was of me and written below it was this:

_Lt. Lance Donovan Hall  
Medal of Honor  
Distinguished Service Cross  
__Defense Distinguised Service Medal  
August 1, 1987-October 2, 2008_

_"Wrongfully accused yet everstrong, I stand alone, confident in my beliefs."_

As I read, I hadn't noticed someone come out onto the front porch.

"Can I do something for you?" my father called out.

Suddenly, I panicked. I reached up to start the car when Ororo caught my hand and leaned in.

"You see what I see. Your family is proud of you. Now, let them know how thankful you are."

Slowly, I nodded my head and took my hand off the ignition. Breathing deeply with my heart pounding, I opened the door and got out of the car. I looked up and saw my father. He looked exactly like he had been on that day, the day that, despite my brother's death days before, he defended me.

"If you don't tell me your name or get the hell off of my property, I'm going to call the police." he growled.

"You don't need to do that." I replied softly.

The moment I spoke, my father took three large steps forward and off the front porch. Still the light wasn't enough for him to see me.

"What did you say?" he asked warily.

"Please don't call the Police." I asked him.

Again, my father stepped forward and this time, he did see. Instantly, his hand raised to cover his mouth.

"Oh my god..."

"Dad, listen, I ca-"

What I could do was interrupted by one of the most powerful hugs I had ever received in my entire life. I could literally feel my father trying to say everything he possibly could with this one single hug. My father held on tight for a few more seconds before letting me go and looking at me and for the first time in my life, I saw my father cry.

"How is this possible?"

"Let's go inside and I can explain everything." I said before I turned and motioned to Ororo to come out of the car. My father instantly noticed the presence of another person and gave me a suspcious look before leading me inside. Once we were inside, my father silently made way for me to pass. I looked into the living room and noticed my mother, asleep on the couch. My father leaned forward and whispered in my ear.

"Wake her."

Slowly, I got down on my knees and crawled towards her. As I approached her, I spoke softly into her ear.

"Kate." I whispered softly into my mother's ear. She didn't move so I spoke again. "Kate."

This time, she woke up slowly. "What is it, dear?"

I knew this would happen. Of course she would think I was my father.

"I need you to wake up." I whispered again with a smile.

Suddenly, my mother seemed to understand that this voice may sound like her husband's but it most certainly was not her husband's. She whipped her head around and saw me there, smiling at her, before she leapt up and wrapped her arms around me.

"Lance! How is this possible?" she screamed as she kissed me repeatedly on the face.

"That's the same question I had." my father echoed behind me.

Finally, minutes later after my mom had released me, I sat on the couch and invited my parents to sit next to me.

"First, Mom, Dad, this is Ororo." I said introducing my guest.

"Pleased to meet you." my father said as he shook her hand.

"Is this your girlfriend?" my mom whispered. Unfortunately, she hadn't been quiet enough for Ororo not to hear her.

"Oh, I don't think so, Mrs. Hall." Ororo answered. "I'm not sure he could keep up with me."

"Keep telling yourself that, darling." I replied sharply.

"I suppose the first thing we need answered is pretty obvious." my father said, skipping through all of the joking.

I knew I was going to have to explain everything to them. Here we go.

"Dad, have you ever heard of Weapon X or Weapon Plus?"

Instantly, my dad's face went pale.

"I'll take that as a yes." I answered myself before I continued. "Gen. Talbot works for Weapon Plus. He was able to get me my assignment and then screw it up for me. Basically, Weapon Plus framed me for treason."

"That's horrible." my mother whispered next to me.

"Why?" my father asked. I looked across the room and saw Ororo, listening intently. I realized that for all the time we had spent together over the last few weeks, she had never heard this part of the story.

"They wanted me to join Team Plus, a team of undercover mutant spies."

A chill went through the room at the word mutant. My father avoided my gaze as my mother spoke up.

"Clark was right?" she asked in amazement. To answer, I turned to Dad.

"You've broken your right arm three times, your left big toe once, your jaw once, collarbone once, and torn both ACL. Also, you have three missing teeth and the cartilage in your right knee is gone. How's that?"

"Perfect." my father said, faking a smile. "How did you do it?"

"That's my ability. I can immediately ascertain any weaknesses that a person may have. Also, due to testing at Weapon Plus, I now have a regenerative healing factor. Basically, anything that would take someone weeks or months to heal or would possibly kill them, I can heal in a matter of minutes."

"Dear God." my father replied softly next to me.

"Anyway, they wanted me to join Team Plus. They told me that if they did, I would be "killed" in a prison riot and my good name would be restored. Apparently, they didn't like about that. After my training, our mission was to find and kill a former Weapon X experiment by the name of James Howlett." I said quickly.

"The original Weapon X?" My dad asked.

"Yes."

"Wouldn't he be in his seventies by now?"

"He is." I answered. "However, due to his healing factor, it prevents him from aging. He can live nearly four or five hundred years."

"And this will happen to you?" my mother asked.

"Yes." I said nodding my head. "Unless my children inherit the ability, which is possible, I will definitely live longer than they do and my grandchildren and so on."

"That's horrible."

"It's the price I paid to stay alive." I responded truthfully. "If I hadn't agreed, they would have just forced me to do it. At least I can say that I did it on my terms."

"True."

"So, we found Howlett at a school in Salem Center, NY known as the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning. It's a school secretly for mutants. I was able to convince them to let me join them there and I was able to escape Weapon Plus along with another member of my team."

"You?" my father asked Ororo.

"No." she replied simply.

"She has been at the school for much longer than I have." I added.

"So you're living at this school?" my mother asked.

"Yes. This school isn't just a school. It is also a place where mutants are trained on how to control their abilities better."

"What else?" my father asked knowingly.

"What else do you know?"

"X-Men." he said simply. My mother turned to him in shock before looking at me.

"That school? You're living at that school?"

"Yes. I'm teaching math and combat tactics along with being a member of the X-Men." I said softly.

The look on my parents' faces were horrifying. Finally, my father spoke.

"You mean to tell me you traded being on one top secret mutant killing team to be on another top secret mutant killing team?"

"No." I replied shortly. "I traded being on a top-secret team designed to kill mutants to being on a top-secret team designed to protect mutants."

Both my parents nodded knowingly. They seemed to understand a little better where I was coming from.

"I take it we can't tell anyone you're alive." my father asked me.

"Well, technically, I'm not." I replied. "Not until we take Weapon Plus down."

"Ok." my father replied.

For the next thirty minutes or so, we talked about how things had been around home. It seemed just like normal until I looked at a wall and noticed two pictures, one of me and one of my brother after graduating from basic training. No matter what happened, he was gone. It killed me to know that that could never be normal again.

About an hour later, my mother finally decided it was time to go to bed. I was told that my room was still ready for me and that Ororo could sleep in my brother's old room.

Ten minutes after I entered my room, someone knocked on the door before opening it. It was my Dad.

"I can't tell you how happy I am to see you." he said.

"It was a ten hour car ride here." I replied. "I spent all ten terrified that you were going to try and shoot me only for the wound to close up in four seconds. Imagine trying to explain that to someone in the middle of the street."

"It would have been tough." he answered truthfully. "I just wanted to tell you that we're glad you're back. When are you leaving?"

"We have team training on Sunday morning, so we'll probably take off tomorrow afternoon."

"Alright." he replied warmly. "Sleep well."

With that, he walked to the door and exited. I had just hopped into bed when the door came flying open again. This time it was Ororo.

"Can I sleep here?" she said, looking at my room as she walked in. "No offense, but sleeping in your brother's room is a bit weird for me."

"Because he's dead?"

"Yeah."

"That's fine, I guess." I replied. Ororo took this time to look around the room. She started noticing the state championships in track and the academic awards from high school. However, it was one picture that drew her attention.

"Who's she?"

"Ellen Montgomery." I replied softly.

"She's beautiful."

"Yes. She was."

"What happened between you two?" she asked.

"We got engaged."

"Really?" she replied in shock. "Where is she now?"

For whatever reason, I didn't answer her right away. She turned and looked at me and I must have had a look of dread on my face.

"Lance, what is it?" she asked with worry.

"She died." I replied shortly.

"Oh my god." she said as she sat down with me on the bed.

So, for the second time in my life, I told her everything. However, unlike where I told Dani and I was upset and using it to defend myself and my actions, I told Ororo freely. It was strange having someone that was truly a confidant.

"I had no idea." Ororo said when I was done with my story.

"It's fine, O." I replied. "What about you? I don't know much about you."

"I was born in New York City but I don't remember much about that. We moved to Cairo when I was young."

"Hence the accent." I said.

"Yes." she replied with a giggle. "When I was seven, a plane crashed into my house. Both my parents died."

"Wow."

"Yeah, I ran around as thief and pick pocket for a long time before I tried to pickpocket Professor X."

"No way!" I replied in shock.

"Yeah. He told me about this school and how I could come and learn how to control my abilities and such. I turned him down then but eight years ago, just a few weeks after my seventeenth birthday, I made the call and he brought me to the Institute."

"Any lovers?" I asked mockingly.

"One." she replied softly.

"Who?"

"His name is T'Challa and he is the king of the African nation of Wakanda." she replied. "We were together for a time in our youth. However, his duties as prince got in the way and we moved on."

"Pretty big shot you must be, dating a prince."

"I saved his life." she replied. "Took out people who had kidnapped him."

I had never expected anything like that. She definitely was full of surprised.

"Thank you." I spat out.

"For what?"

"Coming with me. Making me get out of the car." I answered.

"Lance, that's not a problem at all." she said.

"Well, I just wanted to let you know how much you mean to me."

Suddenly, there was a silence. Then, I realize what I actually said.

"I mean what it means to me." I said, trying to change what I had said. I knew that it was too late. She looked at me with a kind of strange smile. I had officially ruined everything. There was no way in hell she liked me and any work that I had done to try and convince her that I was good for her was gone.

"I know what you said." she said smoothly.

"Me too." I grumbled.

Suddenly, she leaned forward and kissed me square on the lips. It wasn't particularly romantic or sexy but what it meant was certainly lasting.

"I liked what you said first." she said as we pulled apart. My mind was running in circles trying to comprehend what just happened.

"So, wh-uh-what-uh-um-what does this mean?" I asked, noticeably stumbling over my words.

"It means that I like you and you like me." she replied simply.

"Well why does it sound so goddamn easy when you say it."

"Don't try and make it too complicated, Lance. We've only known each other a couple of weeks. I know that I like you though. We'll leave it at that for right now."

"Fine by me." I replied.

"Good." she said as she dug her way under the covers. "Now, get under here, I think your mom must have Bobby's freezing power trapped in the AC in your house."


	14. Into Action

**July 2, 2009**

**6:46 AM**

I had been awake for nearly an hour before I finally decided to get out of bed. There was something strange about being back in her house after never thinking that he was ever going to be back here. While being close to Ororo all night was great, I had just had to get up. So, I walked downstairs and just sat in the living room, taking it all in. I looked around and saw the old school pictures, the pictures of me at prom and homecoming, and finally the picture of me and Ellen after I had proposed to her.

"Strange being back?"

I turned to see my dad standing in the doorway, coffee in hand and a rare smile on his face.

"You have no idea." I replied. "I thought I was going to die at Weapon Plus. Then, I got out and got to come here."

"We're glad you're back." he said as he sat on the couch next to the chair I had occupied.

"Me too." I said. "I see you still get up early."

"Son, I spent years in the military. It's in my blood." he said with a chuckle.

"True."

For a couple minutes we sat in silence, simply enjoying each other's presence.

"So I noticed that the other room was empty this morning." he said suddenly.

"How?"

"She left the door open."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yup. Have to teach that girl to close doors." he said with a smile. "She's not just a friend, right?"

My dad obviously hadn't changed at all and this definitely proved it. He had been a military but at heart, he was a goofball and always doing his best to embarrass me. He was the only person I knew that could do it when no one else was around.

"I'm not sure what she is." I admitted. "I like her, I know that much."

"Well that was pretty obvious. You let her come with you."

"I didn't really let her." I replied. "She would have killed me if I didn't let her come."

"Sounds a bit like your mother."

"Did I hear my name?" I heard my mother shout from the kitchen.

"It's okay, Kate." Dad said calmly. "Just goofing with Lance."

"Oh well good." she replied. "Eggs, Lance?"

"Mom, you may have thought I was dead and I know I've been gone for awhile, but I still hate eggs." I replied with a smile. Mom's notoriously horrible memory was certainly on display. It made me miss being at home as much as anything had so far. Suddenly, a question came into my head.

"Where's Clark?"

My dad instantly dropped his goofy persona and got fairly serious.

"We buried him with your grandparents in Johnstown." he replied simply.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't make it."

"He would have understood."

"He didn't seem to." I replied sadly.

"Clark didn't know everything. As your father, I wish you would have bailed on the mission. As a soldier, you followed your orders to a T."

"How do you know that?" I asked in confusion.

"After your conviction and then your death, I went to President Obama and requested your orders." he answered calmly as if he was talking about going to the grocery store.

"You went to Barack Obama?"

"I was one of the top generals in the country before I retired. I was able to get an audience with pretty much everyone I want. Anyway, he wasn't able to give me true specifics but he basically said that based on information he was able to get, you followed orders. Unfortunately, at this time, you were supposedly dead. It was right about then that they came out and said that you did what you were supposed to and that you were a patriot, a great man, and all that. I just wanted my son back."

"Awesome." I said, relishing in the fact that he had, in fact, done the right thing.

"You're going home this afternoon?" my dad said.

"Yeah. Why?"

"I have something I want to give you." he said, getting up from the couch and going towards the stairs. "Come on."

I quickly got up and followed him up the stairs and into his room. He walked to the corner of the room to his dresser and opened the top drawer. Inside was a small display case with two huge revolvers in it.

"You're giving me your M-29s?" I asked him in surprise.

My dad loved this guns. These were first edition models of the Smith and Wesson Model 29 handgun, famously used by Dirty Harry. This particular model was the most powerful model they had, coming with a 10 3/8" barrel.

"They've been modified a bit." my dad replied. I looked into the case and noticed what he meant. Originally, the M-29 had a six cylinder cartridge. Now, the cartridges had been modified to hold ten rounds. Between the two of them, you could now fire 20 44. Magnum bullets, enough to take a out a small army. One shot from these guns and you were going down.

"Why are you giving them to me?" I asked.

"When I found out you were going into Black Ops, I always said I would give them to you once you completed your first mission." he said. "Unfortunately, I never got that chance. Now, I do."

He lifted the case up and handed it to me.

"Take them."

"Very cool." said a voice from behind me. I turned to see Ororo, dressed and ready for the day, standing in the doorway.

"Yes, very cool. Also, good morning." I replied with a smirk as Ororo crossed the room.

"Morning." she replied before kissing me on the cheek. Instantly, I could feel my face get red and I turned to Ororo and gave her the most angry face I could give her. Which wasn't really that angry considering how much I liked her.

"I like her." my dad said. "Embarrasses you as much as I do. Didn't think that was possible."

"Oh, it is." I said with an embarrassed grin.

* * *

**1:58 PM**

After six hours of hearing my mother and father tell the most embarrassing stories they could come up with, we needed to leave. Unfortunately, I had no interest in leaving.

"We need to go." Ororo said softly as we made our way out the door.

"I know." I said softly before turning to my parents. "I promise we'll try and come back soon."

"We know."

"Remember, anything you send to the school needs to go to Professor Xavier. He'll forward everything to me."

"OK." my dad said. "Got your guns?"

"Of course." I said, lifting the case in my hands.

"Shoot them sometime, will you?"

"Again, will do."

Suddenly, the realization that I was leaving seemed to hit all of us and my mother, father, and I joined together into one of the most comforting hugs I could remember.

"We love you." my mother said.

"Love you too, Mom." I said before letting go. "I'll see you guys soon."

With that, I turned and walked out of the door, sadly. I couldn't imagine ever having a normal life again, but if I did, I would make sure that my family was in it as much as possible.

* * *

**10:45 PM**

After nine hours in the car, we were ready to be home. Ororo had driven nearly eighty MPH the whole way home to try and cut some time off our trip. Luckily, we had managed not to get pulled over despite our excessive speeds.

"Your family is really nice." Ororo said, speaking for the first time in nearly an hour.

"They are." I said softly.

"What is the history of those guns?"

"They were first manufactured in 1955. My grandfather bought them for my father before he passed away. My dad had them with him when he was a POW in Vietnam. He hid them for nearly three years before they finally found them in the back of his cell. Instantly, they took them away and the guard that was watching them started wearing them. For the next year, my father planned his escape. When he finally got out, he killed the man who took the guns. Once he got back, he fixed the guns and they haven't left this display case other than once a year on the anniversary of the day he escaped, he takes them out and shoots them at a range somewhere."

"Wow." she replied in awe. "And he gave them to you?"

"Yup." I replied shortly.

"What do you think about that?"

"Not sure." I said shortly again. "It kind of blows me away."

Ororo took a breath to speak again when, out of nowhere, a voice rang out in the car.

"Alert. Alert. Code Blue. Code Blue." this voice said.

"Who is that?" I asked quickly.

"All of the cars are connected to the security system at the Institute. If something is going down there, it alerts us here." she replied before speaking again. "Cerebro, contact the Professor."

"Cerebro?"

"When Professor X first founded the school, he and Magneto created a machine that Charles could use to find mutants. However, in order to utilize the technology properly, they had to give it an AI."

"Artificial intelligence?"

"Yeah. So, Charles used the AI in Cerebro to link the whole X-Men team's computers and technology together."

Suddenly, Professor X spoke to us.

_"Storm, Ghost: The Brotherhood of Mutants has entered the school. Please do whatever you can to get here ASAP. Cyclops and Jean are busy protecting the students. Magneto and his team are taking control of the upper portions of the building."_

"What would you like us to do?" Ororo asked as she floored the gas pedal, letting the car roar.

_"Park the car at least six blocks from the Institute. When you get here, I would like you to create a weather distraction, Storm. Ghost, your job is to get into the building and give them something to focus on. Hopefully, this will free up the rest of the X-Men to attack and we can drive them out."_

"Done." I replied before turning to Storm. "How far out are we?"

"I just took us up to around 100. We were an hour away driving at about 70."

"So how long?"

"40 minutes or so." she said. "What level of authority do we have?"

_"You are red on Magneto. Everyone else is gree."_

"Green and red?" I asked, not completely familiar with all of their terminology.

"Red is capture."

"Green?"

"What do you think?" she said seriously.

"Why green? I thought we try not to kill." I asked.

"Not in public, but Charles is very protective of his students."

Instantly, I reached into the backseat and grabbed my father's pistols, or my pistols, I guess.

"What are you doing?" Storm asked.

"Drive. I'm loading."

"You're going to use guns?"

"I'm good with a sword. I'm at least twice as good with a gun." I answered as I began loading the pistols.

The next forty minutes passed in a blur. As we pulled into Salem Center, I grabbed one of Scott's long black coats from the back seat. Then, I put two shoulder holster on and inserted the two large pistols. Quickly, I threw on the large coat to cover the guns.

Once Storm parked the car, we got out quickly.

"What kind of distraction are you going to give them?"

"Lots of rain and lightning." she replied. "It's going to suck for you too."

"Make it bad." I said as I took off towards the school. Instantly, she followed me but I could see the pupils of her gorgeous eyes begin to disappear and I knew that she must be accessing her powers. She could only do moderate work with her powers inside the Danger Room and so I had never seen the full extent of her powers. I had no clue how powerful she could make the storm.

Thirty seconds later, I was running through the middle of the most torrential downpour I could remember. Finally, as we got within range of the school, she stopped running to focus on continuing the storm as I continued on. I had hoped that guns hadn't gotten wet. Thankfully, Scott's coat had also protected them from the rain.

As I got closer, I could see a few holes in the sides of the buildings and people lying outside. Laying on the grass I could see Bobby and Angel. After a quick check to make sure that they were still living, I made my way forward to the school. Once inside the main entrance hall, I could instantly hear a large booming voice speaking. I listened to him as I withdrew my guns from their holsters.

"You dare lecture me on peace, Charles? Peace, HA! What has that done for you, Charles, other than make you soft?"

Suddenly, I heard Professor Xavier's voice softly reply.

"It has allowed me to create a safe haven for these students who are just that students. They are not warrior, Erik."

Erik. So, it was Magneto's voice I was hearing. I knew that these guns wouldn't work long against him. I was going to rely on my natural gifts to defeat him. As I made my way upstairs, I turned to look down the long hallway into the rec room and began to see people that I didn't recognize. A woman with blue skin dressed in a white dress along with a man in a black skintight suit that had a large disc right on the center of his chest stood on the far edge of the rec room where Professor X was being held. Another smaller man with green skin stood right next to what I could only assume was Magneto.

Magneto was standing there, dressed in a black bodysuit with a cape draped over him. Adorning his head was an incredibly familiar helmet, identical the one downstairs in the museum. Fortunately for me, everyone had their back to me so that as I crept down the hallway towards them, they saw nothing. Once I was within reach, I dove forward into the room.

After a quick roll, I raised the pistol in my right hand andfired quickly at the back of Magneto's leg, clipping him and dropping him to the floor. When I had two guns, I always fired with the right hand first. This made my second shot with my left and dominant hand just as accurate as the first one. A quick turn and I fired again,this time with the left, putting a bullet into the chest of the small green man. As I fired, I sensed the other man in black preparing to attack. I turned and saw that he had a mildly familiar face before a blast of energy fired from the chest plate. A quick dodge saved me from being sent through the wall behind me. After moving out of the way, I jumped at him, accurately punching him in the face, causing him to stumble backwards and out of the window behind him.

Finally, it was just me and the blue lady. However, when I turned around, I saw that she was gone along with Magneto.

"Cerebro, where is Magneto and the blue lady?" I said, speaking to the computer I hoped would answer. Thankfully, it did.

"Mystique and Magneto have escaped to the front yard." the computer spoke back.

"Where is Storm?" I asked.

"She has moved to the far end of the building, away from where Magneto and Mystique escaped to."

"That's fine, Lance." Professor X said as he pulled himself off the floor where had been and back into his wheelchair. "Thank you for getting them out."

As he spoke, I made my way to the man who I had shot. His breathing was short and using my ability, I could see the weakness spreading quickly over his body. He would die soon. Quickly making my decision, I raised one of the pistols and quickly fired into his head, putting him out of his misery.

"Who was he?"

"His name was Mortimer Toynbee, otherwise known as Toad." Professor X replied calmly.

"Did I do the right thing?" I asked him.

"What do you think?"

"They wouldn't hesitate to kill you and me and everyone else here." I replied.

"You are correct."

"Then, yes, I think I did the right thing."

"Normally, I would be against killing. However, I do believe that in certain situations, it is necessary. I think you judged the situation correctly. Taking out Magneto first was a wonderful strategy. He would have been difficult to defeat otherwise.

"That is my ability." I replied with a smile.

"Of course it is."

Suddenly, Dani came running into the room.

"Oh my god, Lance, are you okay? I heard gunshots."

Raising my matching pistols, I answered her.

"Those were me." I said grimly.

Suddenly, her gaze followed the pistols to the floor where the dead mutant lay. Instantly, her eyes doubled in size as she stared at the floor.

"Oh." she said softly.

"Get out of her, Dani." I said harshly. "You don't need to see this."

She slowly turned around and marched out of the room.

"You are no murderer." Professor Xavier said softly.

"I'm not so sure about that." I said as I began to walk out of the room.

"Why do you kill?"

"Excuse me?" I asked as I turned back to him.

"What reason to you have for killing?"

"I was following orders." I said, obviously referencing my attack on FOB Rhino.

"Why did you follow them?"

"Because it was my job."

"Exactly. Your job is now to protect. As an X-Man, you will be charged with protecting mutants at all cost. While killing is usually avoided, sometimes it may be necessary."

"The fact that it's necessary doesn't make it easier." I replied before leaving Professor Xavier to clean up my mess.

* * *

**July 3, 2009**

**12:00 Noon**

After a quick training session this morning, I had returned to my room and my thoughts. With every fiber of my being, I wished I could have taken that shot back. It wasn't even that I shot him. It was where. I could have aimed for the leg or the arm. However, using my mutant ability, I saw the weakest point in his body and fired simply on instinct. It makes me a great killer, but a poor soldier. You can't find information when your targets are dead.

Normally, when someone came into my room, they knocked on the door. This time, Ororo simply flew in my window. As she landed, she stratled me in the chair and kissed me on the forehead.

"Wake up." she said softly.

"O, I can't." I replied shortly.

"Why not? You saved the Professor. Apparently, he related the story to Scott and Logan. Scott was just ticked that you threw his brother out of the window."

"So that was his brother. I thought he looked familiar."

"Yes, that was Havok. I saw him running away after he fell out the window."

"Why was Scott so upset?"

"Because if there was anyone that wanted to throw him out a window, it was Scott." Ororo replied with a grin.

"Great. What did Logan say?"

"Well, apparently something about his whole honor and Samurai thing made him upset that you used guns. But, he said that he knew the results would have been the same."

Well, at least it was nice to know that his fellow X-Men had confidence in him.

"Did you ever find out how four Brotherhood mutants infiltrated took over a school full of mutants?" I asked her.

"Mystique AKA the blue one." she replied. "She has the ability to transform into anyone. Apparently, she was masquarading as a ten-year old. Then, while they weren't paying attention, she let the other three in the back door. They were inside before the rest of the X-Men even knew they were here."

"Wonderful." I replied as the door behind us opened and Scott walked inside. Instantly, he saw how Ororo was sitting and backed out of the room.

"Scott, there's nothing going on! Come back!" Ororo yelled as she got off of me.

Slowly, Scott opened the door and walked in.

"That's none of my business." Scott said.

"She thinks it's funny to trap me in my chair." I replied.

"Ah." Scott said before turning to Ororo. "Can I talk with him for a moment?"

"Sure." Ororo replied as she turned back to me. "See ya."

"Bye, O."

The moment she was outside, Scott turned back to me.

"Where did you get the guns that you used yesterday?"

"My father gave them to me yesterday. Why?" I replied.

"We try not have weapons like that available inside the school itself."

"What are you asking, Scott?"

"Please take them down to the armory. You can take whatever weapons you want, if that is how you want to be a part of our team, but please don't keep them in your room."

"How about this? What if I gave you all of the ammo and that could be kept down there. These guns belonged to both my father and grandfather. I'm not giving them up." I replied sharply.

"Lance..."

"I'm serious, Scott." I repeated.

"I'm serious." Scott replied just as harshly. "I think you forget that you are not in charge of your team anymore. This is not Team Plus where you are the only person with military experience. You don't get to be in charge by default."

"When did I ever say I was in charge?"

"You play by our rules here, Lance."

"Do your rules include restricting civil liberties? Because I can go back to Weapon Plus if they do. At least there I was able to keep my guns."

The moment these words finished coming out of my mouth, Scott instantly seemed to back down.

"Why don't you trust me? If Ororo or Jean had two revolvers in their room, would you take them?"

"No." Scott admitted after thinking about it for a second.

"Why not?"

"They've earned my trust."

"Saving Professor Xavier didn't earn your trust? At least in the short term?" I asked him.

"No, it didn't."

"And why not?"

"Because shooting an expecting man doesn't earn my trust."

"Did you know that Xavier gave me the green light?"

Scott's sudden silence told me that he had not been informed of that little fact.

"Why?" he asked in shock.

"I don't know. Ask him. All I know is that he gave me the go-ahead."

"So you think that just because you were given permission to kill, you needed to?"

"No. I thought that since I had just taken out their leader, they were going to go for one of two people: myself or Xavier. Myself, I can take care of myself. Xavier? I know he can play mind tricks, but I doubt that even he was so powerful to stop three of them at the same time."

"You would be surprised."

"Well, I didn't know that." I shot back. "I took out Magneto, Toad, and your brother and would have had the drop on Mystique had she not grabbed Magneto and ran."

"Speaking of my brother..."

"Don't even give me that. He sides with them, he doesn't get my sympathy. Neither does Magneto. If that doesn't make me a good member of the X-Men, then kick me out. I'll stick around and teach. After all I've done and all I've seen, I don't need to be a soldier anymore. But, if you can be okay with that and with my ammo going into the armory, then I'm ready to follow Cyclops into the fray."

Scott seemed to sit there and mull over what I had said.

"Do what you can to not kill. However, if you absolutely cannot help it, I can support that you follow orders well. Now, where is your ammo?"

With his answer, I stood up and went to the drawer next to me. After opening it and pulling out the .357 Magnum shells, I turned around and handed him the two boxes of ammo that I had.

"Take it. I'm going to finish the modifications on the guns to make sure that they fire as fast as they can, which means that I'm going to need a range. Can that be set up in the sub-basement?"

"I'm sure that by the time we're done having this conversation, Beast will have it done."

"Great." I said before turning to the window. "O, you don't have to hide from us. We're done fighting now."

Instantly, Ororo flew from underneath the balcony outside and landed on it.

"How did you know I was there?"

Quickly, I pointed to my head.

"Tactical analysis machine, remember? I could sense that according to this situation, and knowing your propensity for being nosy, you would be out there."

"Damn."

"I told you no one can sneak up on me." I said with a chuckle.

"No one except me, right?"

I turned around with a shock to see Logan standing in the doorway.

"I'll have to get used to that." I replied.

"Ya. Listen, I need someone to take over the physical training for the probationary class for the next week. I'm a B member of the Avengers and apparently something is going down in San Francisco that they need me to look at."

"Are you asking me?"

"No, I just thought ya would wanna know." Logan replied with a growl. "I'm also not askin'. I'm tellin'. Starting tomorrow at 6, this probie class is yours. Workouts at 6, combat training at 9-9:45, classes, then more combat from 7-9."

"Why me?"

"Chuck said it's a good idea. Thinks that you'll be in charge of your own team sooner rather than later." Logan said before walking out of the room.

"Well that was weird." Ororo said with a chuckle.

"Yeah." Scott said before standing up. "Good talk."

With that final, and short, goodbye, Scott walked out.

"Am I making a bad impression?" I said, turning to Ororo.

"Of course not." Ororo said before giving me a quick kiss on the cheek. "They probably just think that you're spending too much time with me."

"Great. The one person I want to spend time with is apparently a bad influence."

"What about that one person thing?" Ororo said with a wink.

"Get over it." I replied shortly. "Now, what am I supposed to teach these probies?"

"Well, let me tell you." Ororo said with a smirk before kissing me.

"Can I teach them that?" I said as we broke apart.

"I would prefer you not."

"Good."


	15. Registration

**July 15, 2009**

**5:45 PM**

"They wouldn't pass that bill, would they?" Dani asked.

"They're considering it." Scott admitted. "President Obama is facing significant pressure to make sure that the superhuman population is kept from getting out of control."

"It will never happen." Ororo said next to me.

"You don't know that." Hank replied. "150 years ago, Southerners never thought that blacks would be freed."

"Yeah, but that was moving forward." I returned. "I feel like this is a step in the wrong direction."

After President Barack Obama's announcement that Congress had narrowly passed the Superhuman Registration Act and that he now could sign it and put it into law, it was all we had been talking about for the last week. It was fairly obvious that none of us here fully supported it, although Jean and Scott seemed to understand why a non-superhuman would want something like this.

"It's not like they're saying we have to come out and publicly state our identities." Jean replied. "They're simply saying that we have to be in a database."

"Yeah, and since the House of M debacle, we're all in a database anyway." Bobby said.

"House of M?" I asked in confusion.

"Yeah, House of M. Unknowingly to everyone, a year and a half ago, Magneto's oldest daughter, Scarlet Witch, went insane and sent us all into an alternate reality where mutants ruled the world."

"How do I not remember any of this?" Dani asked.

"Well, all humans instantly forgot because they couldn't understand what had happened. For all of the mutants and/or superhumans that weren't directly involved, they remember it only as a weird dream." Scott informed us.

"Really? Weird." Dani said in shock.

"Yeah. Anyway, in order to bring us back into this reality, Scarlet Witch, wished for no more mutants." Ororo said.

"What? How are we here?" I asked.

"You're part of the 198."

Everyone in the room turned to see Professor Xavier rolling in.

"After House of M, there was a...decimation. Only 198 mutant remained of the thousands that had survived before. It destroyed the population of this school. We're currently operation at about 30% of the population we had prior to the House of M."

"That's amazing." I replied in shock.

"And horrible." Dani added.

"Yes. Thankfully, none of the X-Men were affected." Scott said and although most of them seemed to nod in agreement, I noticed that Beast seemed less than enthusiastic. I guess being a mutant was great if you still looked like a human.

For the next few minutes, we sat and talking about less meaningful things. Scott and Bobby nearly got into an argument about the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Logan sulked around the edge of the room before making another quick exit. Ororo kept to her traditional hyperactivity and bounced around the room. It's amazing how wise and powerful she could be when we were training and how fun and silly she could be outside of it. Dani and I just took it all in.

"Can you believe that a month ago we were still at that Weapon Plus facility?" she asked me.

"Yeah. It's ridiculous. I can't remember ever being as happy as I am here." I replied as I watched everyone in front of me.

"Yeah, I'm happy for you too. You and Ororo seem really happy."

"O and I aren't anything right now, but I'm glad you've gotten passed my unwillingness to date you."

"I have. Piotr and I have gotten really close during our training."

"I've noticed." I replied with a smile. Having been in charge of the training for the newest probationary class for the last two weeks, I had been witness to her and Piotr's instant connection. I had also seen the growth in the unity of their class and I could say that they were going to be ready for combat when they graduated to full X-Men at the end of the month.

"Funny." she said.

Suddenly, Rogue came running into the rec room and turned on the TV.

"The New Warriors are on!" she screamed as she fell in between me and Dani on the couch.

"Great." I grumbled.

The New Warriors were a team of youthful superheroes consisting of Namorita, Night Thrasher, Speedball, and Microbe. Due to financial troubles by team leader Night Thrasher, they had agreed to be followed by cameras from the ABC network for their own reality TV series. They were currently in their second season and they had been confirmed for a third. One of the most insane things was that the whole show was filmed lived. Personally, I think it was a terrible idea but whatever people would watch they would put on TV and people certainly watched this.

_"OK. So, this week, we've followed Nitro and a group of super-villains to Stamford, CT."_ Night Thrasher said to the camera._ "They're holed up in a safe house just a couple blocks away. I've already sent Speedball and Microbe ahead to flush them out and Namorita and I will follow and take them down."_

Suddenly, the camera moved to a live camera that was running behind Night Thrasher as he took off towards this safe house.

"This is ridiculous." Logan said as he entered the room. "I hope Nitro is fuckin' watching this."

"Watch your mouth, Logan." Jean replied.

I turned back to the TV to see Namorita sprinting across the screen at the high speed that the Atlantean could run. Suddenly, she jumped up and through the window of a house. As she did, a ruckus was heard instantly and suddenly someone was thrown out of the window she had jumped through.

_"I think that was Cobalt Man." _Night Thrasher said before taking off again. For nearly two minutes, Night Thrasher followed Cobalt Man until he got within range. He lined up one of his projectiles and fired it. It hit Cobalt Man directly in the back, causing a connection between the two, and allowing Night Thrasher to use his electric abilities to shock Cobalt Man into unconsciousness.

Suddenly, from behind him, a voice rang out.

_"Nitro is on the move!" _came the voice easily recognized as Robbie Baldwin or Speedball.

The moment the words were out of his mouth, the camera flashed back to Namorita, who was chasing Nitro on foot. Using her increased speed, she quickly caused up with him and tackled him, slamming him into a school bus that was passing in front of a nearby elementary school. As Namorita pulled back, ready to put him down, Nitro started laughing sinisterly.

_"What are you laughing at?"_ Namorita roared at him.

_"Listen, sister, you're playing with the big boys now." _Nitro replied.

Suddenly, a flash that caused everyone in the room to recoil because of its brightness exploded from the screen. Moments later, the screen went to white static.

"Oh my god." Scott said.

"Nitro." Logan added.

_"Blue and Gold teams to the Blackbird!"_

For the first time as a member of the X-Men, I was going into action. Instantly, I launched myself up and ran up the stairs to my room. I quickly grabbed my twin pistols and sprinted out of the room again, running towards the nearest elevator. Moments later, I was down in the sub-basement armory.

"Only take limited weapons. We're not going to fight. We're going to help the recovery effort." Cyclops shouted over the commotion.

Quickly, I grabbed one of the boxes of ammo and loaded both of my guns. Then, I grabbed one of the swords that lay there and put it into the modified combat jacket that I had created. Finishing the look off with a pair of black sunglasses and Ghost was ready to go to battle.

As I finished arming myself, I ran to the hanger where the Blackbird was. The hanger itself was under the basketball courts outside which would retract when we needed to go somewhere. I took my seat beside the radar and began to access the systems that I had been trained to use. Suddenly, a voice came over my earpiece radio.

"Be careful, Lance." Dani's voice said softly.

"We will, Dani. We're not going to start a war, just to help clean the place up."

Just as I finished speaking, everyone had taken their place and the entrance ramp closed. Instantly, I got to work on accessing the information networks that I was to use to brief the team. Cyclops and Storm took their place at the controls and quickly began the takeoff procedure.

"Ghost, go ahead with the briefing." Cyclops ordered.

"Right. Nitro did go boom as we suspected. It appears that none of the New Warriors are still alive, at least no evidence of them are around the blast epicenter. The blast itself appears to be nearly a mile and a half wide. According to the Blackbird's computers, that means that anywhere from 1,000-10,000 people could be killed. No one inside that elementary school would have survived."

"How many kids were there?" Wolverine asked.

"Enrollment is nearly 700 students, ages 7-10." I answered grimly.

"Fuck." Iceman replied.

"We're going to be in Stamford in a few seconds." Cyclops stated. "When we get there, we'll hover over the town. Wolverine and Ghost, you are out first to secure the area. Once you give the OK, everyone but Jean and I will repel down. We'll land the Blackbird at a private airport a mile away from the edge of the blast radius. Ghost, until we return to the group, you are in charge of working with anyone else that shows up. Wolverine, if for any reason there's a need to fight, you're in charge. Does everyone understand?"

Slowly, everyone nodded in confirmation. I couldn't believe that I was already being given control of a mission. Especially

"Good, because we're here." Cyclops said as he lowered the entrance ramp. Instantly, Wolverine and I jumped up and launched ourselves out of the back of the Blackbird. As we landed, I felt my right foot break. Thankfully, this was an easy fix for my healing power. We checked the area and when we were sure that no one was going to come out of the woodwork and attack us, Wolverine radioed the okay up.

Moments later, the whole team is on the ground.

Instantly, I took control.

"Just start looking. I'm going to see who's here." I said firmly as I took off in another direction. As I did, I saw another plane hover over the destruction. As I did, I saw another group of costumed heroes fall out. Instantly, I recognized the one that landed closest. I ran up and approached him carefully.

"Cap?"

Slowly, he stood up and pulled his shield in front of him warily.

"Who are you?"

"Ghost. Current ground leader for the X-Men while Cyclops and Jean park the car." I joked.

"X-Men? You must be new." Captain America said with a grim smile.

"First mission." I replied firmly.

"First? How are you in charge?"

I took off my sunglasses and instantly he took a step back in recognition.

"Lance Hall?" he said in surprise.

"Yes." I replied.

"Aren't you dead?"

"No one told me." I replied with another smile.

"Great. The Avengers are looking over here towards the blast epicenter. I believe that Richards and the Four are over there, near the elementary school. Nick Fury has SHIELD operatives on the way. I think the X-Men would be best equipped to provide protection for those of us that are looking."

_**"Yeah, this could get ugly." **_Iron Man said as he landed behind him.

"No kidding." I said as I turned away and came to the realization that I had just had a conversation with Captain America and Iron Man.

As I approached the X-Men, I saw that Jean and Cyclops had already made their way back to the group.

"What did he say?" Cyclops asked roughly.

"He said that he wants us to provide protection to those people digging around." I communicated back to him.

"Great. Put the mutants in front of the angry people." Cyclops murmured before turning to the rest of the team. "Both Blue and Gold teams, I want a perimeter lining up with the edge of the blast. Ghost and myself will stay inside to help Cap and the Avengers look for survivors. Jean, you are in charge."

Everyone nodded grimly.

"X-Men, move out!" Scott ordered before sprinting back towards the epicenter of the blast. As we approached, I turned to Cyclops.

"Why am I being brought in instead of Wolverine or someone like that?" I asked.

"Because you made a good first impression with Captain America and you are the most armed person other than Iron Man out here." Cyclops replied as we approached Captain America again.

"Cap." Cyclops said firmly. Captain America stood up from the rubble and rubbed his eyes roughly.

"I thought I told you to provide protection." Captain America said firmly.

"Steve, we have most of the team guarding the perimeter." Cyclops replied.

Suddenly, Iron Man, Thor, and Ant-Man came over.

_**"Cyclops, despite Cap's grumpiness, we are glad you're here." **_Iron Man said.

"Thanks." Cyclops said slowly. "Ghost, here, was a former military man as I'm sure Cap just found out. He was in charge of clean-up operations during his tour in Afghanistan."

"How did you know that?" I whispered to him.

"We read your record." Cyclops replied.

"Oh."

"Anyway, Ghost is also our newest member and therefore, I'm requesting that he join you. He hasn't learned all of our perimeters commands yet and as you run everything like the military would, he would be very comfortable working with you."

"Let him join our noble team. I'm very interested in seeing what this minuscule man can do." Thor said poetically.

_**"What he said."** _Iron Man echoed.

"Fine." Captain America said. "Ghost, you're with us. Who knows? Maybe if we like how you work, we'll make you a back-up."

"Thank you, Cap." Cyclops said. "I need to talk to Ghost for a second."

Cyclops quickly turned me around.

"You know our perimeters." he said, answering my question before I asked it. "I need someone to watch Cap and Iron Man. It's no secret that the two of them are on opposite ends of the Registration scale. I want you to watch them and tell me if it looks like a break is coming."

"Break?"

"If the Bill passes, is Cap going to fight it?" Cyclops put simply.

"Got it." I said before turning back to Cap. "I'm ready for you."

"Follow me, kid." Captain America said, leading me to the ruins of the elementary school. "So, what do you do?"

"I see weakness in people and situations. My brain acts as a tactical analysis machine."

"Perfect. Look at the rubble and figure out where the easiest place to lift would be." he ordered. I saw that Captain America was very stressed out and making a lot of jokes wouldn't be wise.

Taking a look at the pile, I instantly saw a weak spot in the pile underneath me. Quickly, I jumped forward and threw one of the rocks aside. As I did, a cavern opened up underneath and I saw the most horrible thing that I would ever see in my entire life.

Six children, no older than eight years old, with various injuries lay dead at the bottom of the hole.

"Cap." I said softly.

"What's wrong, kid?"

"This."

He came over and looked in the hole. Suddenly, he removed his mask and took a knee in front of the hole.

"This is wrong." he said softly.

"No kidding."

"I've been fighting this battle for fifteen years already. I'm still in a world that I don't always recognize and now this."

"I know what you mean."

"How?" he asked harshly.

"My whole life was taken from me by an organization that uses mutants to hunt mutants. That's the whole reason I went to prison. For nearly two years, I was imprisoned for following orders."

"I see." he mused softly.

* * *

**9:45 PM**

For hours, Captain and I worked side-by-side pulling corpses and injured people from the rubble. As he pulled each one of them from the wreckage, I could see the immense weight that this man placed on himself. I could see that he blamed himself for not being able to stop this. Unfortunately, things weren't going to get much better.

As we were getting ready to finish, Iron Man landed next to us.

_**"Steve."**_

"It happened."

_**"It had to."**_

"No, Tony, it didn't have to happen." Captain America growled.

"What didn't have to happen?" I asked him as I saw the rest of the X-Men coming towards us. Obviously, they had judged that no one was going to attack finally. There had been a few skirmishes but nothing too big to speak of.

"The Superhuman Registration Act. Obama signed it." Captain America said as he removed his mask again and threw it at the ground. "Take it, Tony. If that Act is put into place, I'm done."

_**"It doesn't work like that, Steve. It doesn't matter if you're active or not, you still have to register. Please don't do this. I've just been given word that you're supposed to meet with Assistant Director Hill on the Helicarrier ASAP."**_

"I suppose I'll go and give that woman and Fury a few harsh words." Captain America said before storming off. Once he was out of sight, Iron Man turned to Cyclops.

_**"Thanks for your help. If it comes that you are asked to register, please don't fight it."**_

"We're already in the database, remember?" Scott chided.

_**"Scott, don't be like this."**_

"The X-Men are taking no side in this matter, Iron Man. Don't tip our hand. I think you know which side we'll pick if we're forced to be involved." Cyclops replied angrily before turning around to the rest of the team. "Let's get out of here, X-Men."

* * *

**July 16, 2009**

**8:49 AM**

_"...America jumped out of the SHIELD Helicarrier last night after a brief meeting with Assistant Director Maria Hill. Apparently, Captain America, a notorious opponent of the Registration Act, was given an assignment to round up heroes that failed to sign up."_

"Do you think it's actually going to start a war?" I asked Ororo who had her head in my lap.

"I do." she replied sadly. "I hope that, for our sake, we're left out of it."

"Me too. I've had enough time of war."

"I imagine." she said softly before we both turned back to the TV.

_"...this quote from Tony Stark, CEO of Stark Enterprises and the alter ego of Iron Man."_

The image suddenly flashed to Tony Stark, standing in the lobby of the SHIELD Headquarters. He was clad in his Iron Man armor sans his helmet.

_"I encourage any and all superhumans to go to their nearest SHIELD office and sign the Registration. Any superhuman who has not signed by the end of the week will be declared an enemy of the state and subject to jail time. Again, please do NOT follow the example of Captain America and run and hide. Not only will we find you, it will make things much more difficult. We look-"_

Suddenly, someone came over the loud speaker.

"Lance, you have a guest in the lobby." Professor Xavier said.

Instantly, I jumped up and ran towards the front door, curious to see who it could be. I was met outside the Entrance Hall by Scott and Professor Xavier.

"I'm not going to tell you who is on the other side of the door, so to preserve your surprise. Just remember that you are welcome here." he said before he opened the door.

I walked through the door and saw the two people that I never thought I would see again: Wade Wilson, mask and all, and my captor: Malcolm Colcord.

"Lance, how good to see you again. We've missed you."


	16. Revelations

Instantly, I turned back to Xavier outside the room.

"My family. Bring them here if you have to. Just get them out of there." I said to Scott and Professor Xavier.

"Why?" Scott asked me.

"The guy out there is Malcolm Colcord, Head of Weapon Plus. He's going to say that I need to come back to Weapon Plus. If I say no, he'll use my family as leverage."

"Scott, take Jean and Logan with you. Get there as quickly as you can." he ordered before turning back to me. "I will interrupt you and give you a message when it's done."

"Thanks." I said before turning back to the entrance hall and Colcord.

"Good afternoon, Ghost. How are you?" Colcord greeted me with an evil smile.

"I've been great." I replied. "Follow me, we can sit down over here." I said as I led him to a side room with a few tables. It also had enough swords to arm a Japanese army from 1701.

"Now, what can I do for you?" I said, trying to act as cordial as possible.

"Mr. Hall, I see that you are doing well."

"Well, I was." I grumbled softly.

"Don't act like you aren't happy to see us!" Wilson said with a cackle.

"Sorry." I replied gruffly.

Finally, Colcord appeared to be sick of beating around the bush and got to business.

"Here's the deal, Hall. The Registration Act has said that all superhumans must register."

"I have. I'm sure you know that all of the mutants that are left are registered." I replied matter-of-factly.

"They are." he replied firmly. "However, did you read the fine print?"

"How could I have read the fine print?" I yelled. "They haven't even released the bill to the public yet."

"Right. Well, I have read the fine print. It says that any superhuman and/or mutant that works with the government must report for duty and registration, regardless of prior registration."

"That's great." I replied in a fury. "There's only a few problems with that."

"What?"

"First, I'm dead. Second, I don't work for you anymore."

Colcord replied with a cackle before actually speaking.

"Wrong on both accounts. While the general public may think that you are dead and you were given a proper burial, legally, you are just as alive as anyone else. Since that is the case, you DO work for Weapon Plus. If you don't return, we could have the United States' military here in a matter of moments and they'll take you back to the Vault for the rest of your life."

"It won't happen. The US military wouldn't stand a chance against us."

"Ah, yes, The X-Men. You are quite right. No human military force would be able to beat you. However, they would be able to beat your poor mother and father."

"What do they have to do with this?" I said, faking surprise.

"You come with us, or their house goes up in flames with them tied to the bed." Colcord replied, again using his typically evil smile.

Suddenly, Scott came into the room, looking incredibly pleased with himself.

"Lance, sorry to bother you and your friend, but you have a phonecall from Steve."

Steve. Obviously, he was referencing Captain America. Not only was this sure to raise Colcord's interest, it would allow me to leave the room for a second.

"Sorry, Malcolm. Gotta take this." I said as I stood up and walked out of the room. The moment the door closed behind me, I turned to Scott.

"What's up?" I asked in anticipation.

"I had to call in a lot of favors." Scott said grimly. "They had the place staked out and ready to go but thankfully Tony Stark was able to convince President Obama to call off the troops. Also, I've learned that he's pulled the government funding."

"Great." I replied in happy surprise.

"Now, this doesn't mean they're dead in the water. They still have a lot of very rich sponsors but they have no government authority now."

"Awesome. Nice cover with Steve, by the way."

"Actually, it wasn't a cover. He called a few minutes ago. I told him you would call him back."

"Oh wow." I said in shock. "Where are my parents at?" I asked.

"Upstairs."

"Wonderful." I said before turning back to the door and re-entering the room. Slowly, I sat down in front of Colcord.

"So, what's your answer, Ghost? You wouldn't sacrifice your family to keep your freedom, would you?"

"Go to hell, Colcord." I replied instantly.

"Fine." he said slowly before turning to Wilson. "Call it in."

Wilson pulled a cell phone from one of his pockets and instantly hit send.

"Burn it down."

I could hear someone on the other side of the phone yelling violently.

"What do you mean?" Wilson screamed into the phone.

Again, someone yelled into the phone. Just after the other side finished, Wilson slammed the phone shut and turned to Colcord.

"Apparently, President The Rock Obama just pulled our government authority and funding. Iron Man was protecting the punk's house."

Suddenly, Colcord slowly turned around to face me. I knew that I was smiling ear-to-ear in the most evil fashion I knew how.

"It looks like my legal obligation to you is complete." I said smoothly.

"Yes, fortunately for me, I have two other members to my team." Colcord replied, much to my surprise.

"Who?"

"Well, Wilson here as volunteered kindly to take over for you. Malcolm was wise enough to come back and we have just completed our team." Colcord slimed.

"With who?"

Suddenly, the door opened behind me. I turned to see Dani walking in grimly.

"Dani? What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Going back to Weapon Plus." she replied shortly before falling back in line behind Colcord.

"Why?"

"A few reasons. I'm more useful there. Xavier won't even put me on the X-Men here. Plus, Colcord told me he would save you and your family if I went with him."

"Dani, they can't kill me, remember? Plus, my family is here! Tony Stark just got them out before this asshole tried to kill them."

"What?" she said in shock. Suddenly, Deadpool grabbed her from behind and teleported out of the room.

Instantly, I stood and grabbed the sword next to me.

"If anything happens to her, Colcord, I'll come for you!" I screamed, aiming the sword at his throat.

"Nothing will happen to her. _I _need her." Colcord said with a smile. Then, in a flash, Deadpool teleported back and grabbed Colcord. With another flash, they were gone. Just as they disappeared, Scott and Logan ran into the room.

"They took her, didn't they?" Logan asked.

Slowly, I nodded my head in shock.

"I thought she was on our side." Scott said.

"I think she is. But now, I'm not sure."

"Why not?" Scott replied.

"Well, she said that she was going because she wasn't valued here. But, then she also said that she did it to save me and my family."

"Which one do you think it is?" Logan asked me.

"I think she's gone." I admitted. "I know that my attempt at a relationship with Ororo upset her and I probably pushed her back there."

"Don't blame yourself, Lance." Scott said to me. "It was her choice. You didn't do anything to hurt her. You were simply living your life."

"I know." I said softly. "How can I get a hold of Cap?"

"He left a number." Scott said before leading me out of the room and into the next room where a phone sat. Next to it was a piece of paper with a phone number scribbled on it.

"Thanks." I said softly.

"Not a problem, Lance. Don't worry about Dani. If she really wants back here, I'm sure she'll make it back." Scott said before closing the door behind him.

Instantly, I picked up the phone and dialed the number that Scott had left me. After two quick rings, someone picked up on the line.

_"Hello?"_

"Cap?"

_"The name is Steve. Don't call me that. We both know that this isn't a secure line."_

"Right. Well, Steve, what can I do for you?" I asked, trying to sound normal.

_"Are you from Plus?"_

"Yes." I admitted. "How did you know?"

_"In 1943, I was the first test subject of the super soldier serum in a project known as Operation Rebirth. It was the start of the program that you were run through today."_

"Well, things have certainly changed."

_"I guess. Anyway, that's not really what I called about."_

"What is then?"

_"Currently, I'm hiding out in a abandoned SHIELD bunker. However, I can't stay here forever."_

"Probably not." I replied, still no clue what he was talking about.

_"We need to start moving." _he said.

Suddenly, a thought entered my mind: he thinks I'm joining his side. While I definitely agree that the SRA is a horrible law, I wasn't sure that I was ready to join him in his quest to overturn the law.

"Steve..."

_"You aren't joining me, are you?" _

"The X-Men are neutral in this." I told him. "We aren't getting involved."

_"Listen, Lance, I know you're new. But, the X-Men are already registered. I wouldn't be surprised if pretty soon, you had a visit from Stark or Richards or someone like that. They'll tell you that if you're going to remain active, you are going to have to fight for SHIELD and the SRA."_

"If it comes to that, I'll give you a call." I admitted. I knew that I wouldn't become a puppet of any government, not again.

_"Good." _Steve said before hanging up abruptly.

I sat by the phone for several minutes before waking myself up from the shock of what Cap had just told me. The X-Men were registered. That meant that at any point, we could become Stark's puppets. Instantly, I stood up and quickly made my way to the stairs. Once I was there, I ran as quickly as I could to the top floor and Xavier's office.

Once I reached the door, I knocked softly.

"Come in."

I quickly pushed the door open and saw Professor Xavier sitting at his desk, glasses on and obviously working on something.

"Professor, am I bothering you?" I said softly.

"Not at all, Lance. Also, I do believe you have been here long enough to call me Charles." he said as he rolled himself around the desk. "What can I do for you?"

"I just got off the phone with Captain America." I said.

"What did he have to say?" Charles said, immediately getting to business.

"Well, first he wanted me to join him."

"What did you say?" Professor Xavier asked with interest.

"I told him that the X-Men were neutral in the whole matter."

"I take it he didn't like that."

"It wasn't that he didn't like that. He said that the X-Men being a registered team was a problem." I said quickly.

Professor Xavier looked towards the door and then slowly lifted his hand to his face and began rubbing his eyes.

"What is it, Professor?" I asked with worry.

"I was worried it would come to this."

"So he's right?"

"Unfortunately yes. Under the technicalities of the new law, we could be sanctioned as a government team, although considering the genetic makeup of our team I find that unlikely. Unfortunately, if we are not sanctioned, we legally cannot act. However, if we _are _sanctioned, we can be told who to fight against, regardless of our intentions."

"This could be the end, couldn't it?" I asked in trepidation.

"It theoretically could. We are all individually registered with the SRA already so there would be no chance of us getting in trouble. However, the team could be asked to be sanctioned or disbanded."

"How do we deal with that?"

"We talk to everyone on the team and figure it out from there." he said softly.

Suddenly, before I could come up with a reply, Logan burst in the door.

"Fury, Hill, and Stark are in the lobby. They're asking for you."

Instantly, Professor Xavier reached for the controls to his chair and, before I knew what was going on, he was out the door and in the elevator. I quickly made my way around the hall to the stairs and ran down to meet the Professor.

"Logan, find Scott and send him to the meeting room. Lance, you're with me." he said before rolling through the door and into the entrance hall where three people stood. The man and the woman wore the same dark blue battle suit armed to the teeth with various knives and pistols. The other stood dressed in one of the most expensive suits that I had ever seen. His hair was slicked back and he had a very dangerous look on his face.

"Nick, Maria, and Tony, please step in here." Professor Xavier said as he led them towards the same room that I had met with Colcord in earlier.

"Please sit." he said as he made his way to the other side of the table.

Suddenly, Nick Fury made a motion towards me and before I knew, I had a gun in my face.

"I don't believe we've had the pleasure." he said roughly as he waved his gun in my face. Thankfully for me, I wasn't helpless.

"Ghost. New X-Men." I replied as I waved my eyes down towards the ground. His single unpatched eye moved down and saw the knife that I had grabbed from behind me was pointed squarely at his crotch. "And you are?"

"Nick Fury, Director of SHIELD." he said as he pulled back.

"My pleasure." I replied with sarcasm. I turned to the woman that came with him. "Lance Hall."

"Maria Hill. I didn't realize we allowed traitors to get out of their pens." she growled.

"I didn't realize we wrongfully convicted elite soldiers who were given faulty equipment by high ranking generals who then lied about the orders they gave you."

"You can't prove that!" Hill roared.

"Of course I can't! You backed them and then destroyed any evidence that it happened!" I fired back.

"Cool it, you two." Fury mused as he sat down across the table in between Hill and Stark. "Now, Xavier, here's the deal. The X-Men have been sanctioned as an official government black-ops team. If you ever get caught, we won't back you but until then, you get to do what you want."

"That's what I wished to talk about." Xavier said firmly. "Under no circumstances will we accept missions from SHIELD."

"That's going to be a problem." Hill muttered to Fury. I was getting a very strong feeling that I didn't like her.

"She's right." Fury said strongly. "All government sanctioned teams will operate under the control of SHIELD. Any teams that act outside of the interests of the United States government and SHIELD will be considered traitors."

Professor Xavier preparing his reply when Scott opened the door behind the three SHIELD representatives.

"Scott." Stark said grimly.

"Tony."

Scott placed himself next to me and Professor Xavier. As he did, he leaned into towards me.

"What did I miss?"

"SHIELD is saying that if don't accept government control, they'll arrest us for treason."

"Great." he said.

Professor Xavier leaned in and joined the two of us.

"I think we need to give in." Professor Xavier whispered.

"How?

"Tell them that the X-Men are no more."

"What?" Scott said in shock.

"_Officially, _the X-Men would be done."

"Unofficially?" I asked softly.

The look on Professor Xavier's face told me everything that I thought he was saying. Professor Xavier, for all his peaceful nature, was obviously not in favor of supporting this law and he would do anything that he felt necessary to avoid becoming a product of this law. Slowly, Professor Xavier sat up and faced the three across the table.

"If we are going to be required to accept SHIELD control, then we will kindly back out until the SRA is repealed."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Stark replied harshly.

"Yes, Mr. Stark, I am. The X-Men are no more until the SRA is repealed."

"Well that's fine with me." Hill said. "The SRA will be never be repealed so go right ahead."

"I appreciate you fervor." Professor Xavier replied coldly.

"If you are actually going to do this, we are going to need to repossess all of your equipment." Hill added maniacally.

"I don't think so." Xavier replied sharply.

"What? SHIELD has exclusive control of the equipment used by these teams."

"Actually, you do not, Commander Hill. All of this equipment was bought and paid for with MY money. As of today, we have stopped using it and we will not use it again until the SRA is no more."

Nick Fury seemed upset at Xavier's play of this technicality. I knew he really wanted to get his hands on Cerebro and the Danger Room's technology. Well, too bad for him.

"Now, Mr. Fury, Tony, Commander Hill, if you would follow Ghost out, that would be much appreciated." Professor Xavier said as he turned and rolled himself out of the room.

Slowly, I stood up and led our guests out of the room. I could tell by their mood and behavior that the meeting hadn't gone how they wanted. Well, good. Finally, after a quick walk, they were at the front door.

"Don't feel like you have to come back. We won't take it as rude." I mused. I knew I was probably playing with fire. But, I just couldn't help it.

Suddenly, Stark leaned in towards me.

"I know he called you."

"I don't know what you're talking about." I lied. I wasn't a good liar and a businessman like Tony Stark could definitely see through it.

"That's what I thought. If you work with him, or help him, you're aiding and abetting a criminal. You'll go to jail just like he will."

"How's the piece of shrapnel in your chest doing?" I said, accessing my ability to look at his weakness. "It's getting awfully close, isn't it? Probably can't remove it surgically, can you?"

"How do you know about that?"

"Trade secret." I said smoothly. "I also know that the right amount of pressure applied to the front right quarterpanel of your armor and the whole thing will fall apart."

"Seriously, how do you know that?" Stark asked with menace.

"Don't worry about it." I replied. "Now get out of my house."

Slowly, the three of them walked out the door and I was able to breath a little easier.

* * *

**July 19, 2009**

**4:43 AM**

I hadn't been able to sleep since Dani had been taken or volunteered or whatever she did. Why had she done it? I knew that I hadn't been the best friend to her after our moving into the Institute. However, had that been enough to drive her away like that? I don't know why I blamed myself, but I did. For some reason, I thought that something I had done had pushed her away. Would she really leave because of Ororo? Because of the relationship that I was trying to develop with her. If so, I didn't know how I felt about that. I knew that I had incredibly strong feelings for Ororo, ones that were developing every day. Dani, I had feelings for her too. But my feelings for her were like the same feelings I had for my brother. I definitely cared about her but I didn't want to be in a relationship with her. But did that push her away?

It was a chilly morning for July. The ground was very dewey and the beginnings of what was going to be the sunrise were forming on the horizon. However, my thoughts were locked not on the beauty of this morning, but on what I had done to push my best friend away from me. I looked out and saw a small herd of deer run across the large grounds of the school. They didn't stop they just screamed across the lawn. Something about this freedom was both inspiring and depressing. I was free from Weapon Plus and the US government. However, in the case that I was ever declared living again, I was a mutant. The only people in my life that would accept me were the people in this school and my parents. Other than that wonderful support system that I had here, I felt very alone.

A loneliness that I could only remember feeling during my time in the Vault and during my first days of Weapon Plus. It brought me back to our first day there. Malcolm's attack. The Hunt. Everything that we had done, everything that had done to get out, and she went back. Even if she did it because she thought that she was helping me, she should have figured out another way.

Slowly, I turned from my balcony and got dressed. After finishing up, I ran down to the Sub-basement. As the elevator finished coming down, I walked out and entered the control room for the Danger Room.

"Cerebro, activate room."

Instantly, everything in the room turned on. All the various lights and buttons began flashing. I still didn't know the exact layout of all the buttons. Thankfully, that was what Cerebro was for.

"Cerebro, load Hawk battle simulation."

Slowly, lights began to flash and the Danger Room began to run its holographic simulation. I quickly ran down the stairs and when I opened the door, I found myself in the middle of the Savannah. There was no one in sight.

"Cerebro, I could use a sword."

Instantly, a sword appeared on the ground directly in front of me. After stepping forward and picking it up, I stepped back and prepared myself.

"Cerebro, run simulation."

Slowly, the images around me came to life. The tall grass and the trees began to sway as an imaginary wind blew through. Once I saw this simulation in action, I knew exactly what I would be up against. Dani had been training how to fight wild animals. Looking around, I quickly assessed my location. I was in the only bare spot around and with the wind, it would be nearly impossible to discern where my predator would be coming from. The only way to defend myself was to slowly circle the bare spot and keep my eyes on a swivel.

As I did, I reversed my grip on the sword so that instead of holding it forward, I had it behind me. This would allow me to defend myself easier from the sides, along with making it easier to move.

Slowly, I circled and waited. I was wondering what was taking whatever animal I was going to be fighting so long to get to me. I was glad to know that I was probably the only person in the building awake so if I got destroyed by a lion in the simulation, no one would be awake to see it.

As I continued to circle, I began to wonder if someone other than me had ever seen this simulation. The simulations are set up by each individual person and they were run during their free time, usually without much, or any, observation. So, I wouldn't have been surprised if I was the first person to see her simulation.

Just as I finished that thought, something jumped out at me. Instantly, I dove out of the way and rolled back up to my feet. When I turned to face my attacker, I didn't see a lion, or a cheetah, or even a gazelle. Instead, I saw a perfect carbon copy of me.

"Cerebro, pause simulation." I ordered.

Just as I spoke, the image of me froze in an attack position.

"Cerebro, give me Wolf's normal start-up package."

Exactly where my sword had appeared, two guns appeared. They were incredibly large and powerful semi-automatic pistols, the kind of gun that someone who had a lot of training with handguns would use. However, I distinctly remember Dani saying that she hated guns. Then, there was the image of me. It was perfect. Two giant revolvers sat in shoulder holsters and a sword had been drawn out of a sheath that had been sewn into the back of a long black coat. This was all too strange.

Suddenly, a voice came over the intercom.

"So, how do you explain this?"

I looked up to see Logan standing over the controls.

"Did you put this in here?" I asked him.

"No." he said simply through the intercom. "I thought there was something off about her. She smelled funny."

"Cerebro, cancel simulation." I said as I walked back up to the control room. "What does this mean?"

"It certainly looks to me like she was training to fight you." he said shortly. "Why is the big question."

"Yeah. Why?"


	17. Conversation with Dad

**July 20, 2009**

**7:45 AM**

We were sitting in the biggest conference room that the Institute had to offer with every X-Men that was still at the school seated in it. With the numerous events of the previous day, Professor Xavier thought it was best for us all to get together and talk about what had happened.

"Thanks for meeting this early." Professor Xavier said to start the meeting. "For those of you that aren't instructors and aren't used to being up this early, I apologize."

"Thanks, boss." Bobby said while he sipped he coffee.

"You are welcome." Professor Xavier said with a chuckle. "Now, I would like to inform you that, according to SHIELD, the X-Men are dead."

Professor Xavier quickly interrupted the silence before someone started freaking out.

"Now, this does not mean that we are inactive." he said clearly. "However, it does mean that we are going to need to be careful if we do go out of this school."

"What does that mean for the probies?" Logan asked.

"They will continue on as planned." Xavier replied. "My hope is that nothing changes here. I honestly believe that we have the ability to keep the peace despite the limitations being placed on us. However, this means we need to be smart. You cannot call each other by code names. Ever. I would not be surprised if Stark or SHIELD has some kind of satellite or something aimed at the Institute."

"Prick." Logan added grumpily.

"Personal feelings aside, this is for our own good." Xavier said as he optically scanned the room. "I refuse to let this Registration business keep us from keeping mutants safe."

"Amen." Warren said with a grin in the back of the room. For some reason, Warren had a mild obsession with making vaguely religious jokes. Most people thought it was because his codename was Angel. I just think it's because he's disturbed. But in a good way.

"Now, there are a couple more things." Xavier said, subtly restarting the meeting. "Lance, would like to tell everyone?"

I nodded my head before standing and making my way slowly to the front of the room. After weaving my way through all of the chairs in the room to make it there, I turned and spoke to the room.

"As you walk around the school today, you will notice that someone is not here." I started vaguely. Bravely, I chanced a look at Ororo who was looking at me with a mix of horror and pity. I hadn't told anyone who was gone, not even her. But she already knew. How?

"Dani has returned to Weapon Plus."

Instantly, the room went into chaos. There were numerous shouts about security and such. Eventually, the noise got unbearable.

"ENOUGH!" I yelled, quieting the room in an instant. "Yes, I realize that there is obviously an inherent security risk due to her close proximity to us during her time here. However, we cannot worry about that. We can change enough of the protocol to make things different around here. Plus, Team Plus doesn't work with others. So, at worst, it will be three mutants attacking a school full of trained mutants."

"How do you know they won't come with someone?" Jean asked warily from the back of the room.

"I guess I don't. Their mission could be changed. However, when we were training, it was just the three of us. We were never trained on how to work with large groups or who we would take orders from in the field."

"Why did she go back?" Hank asked.

"To be honest, I'm not sure. She told me that the reason she went back was because she didn't feel valued here and that they told her if she went back they wouldn't harm me."

"Which reasons of those do you believe?" Professor Xavier asked me.

"Neither." I answered boldly. "Last night, I couldn't sleep again. I still don't know what made me do it. Whatever the reason, I went down to the Danger Room and ran Dani's personal simulation. What I found was...disturbing at best."

"What was it?" Scott asked.

"Her target of choice was me."

The last time I had said something that could be considered controversial moments earlier, the room had exploded. This time, the opposite was true. It felt like all of the air had instantly been sucked out of the room and only a vacuum was left.

"You?" I heard someone say from the back.

"Yes. It was an exact replica of me in battle. Two modified M-29s in shoulder holsters with a katana drawn from a sheath that had been sewn into the back of a black combat jacket. It was insane."

"I saw it." Logan admitted. "It was perfect, down to the hair.

"She must have told Cerebro to video record Lance's sessions in the Danger Room and then use that as a simulation. It would track his tendencies and traditional strategies and movements. It would make a very realistic version of him." Professor Xavier mused out loud.

"I don't care how she did it." I snapped. "I think there's something bigger going on."

"What do you mean?" Scott asked.

"I think that Colcord sent us here intentionally."

"Obviously." Logan replied. "He wanted you to kill me."

"Which would have been impossible without the Murasmasa Blade." I said, referencing the story that Logan had told me a couple of weeks ago. "Which happens to be here."

"So what are you saying?"

"I think he didn't care if I got in or not. It was Dani that was his concern. When he left yesterday, I told him that I would kill him if he hurt here. He said he needed her. I think that his plan all along was for both of us to get in and then she would go back and give him all the information she needed to bring us down."

"So we should be worried about security?" Jean asked me.

"I think so." I admitted, having finally thought everything through. "However, I do have one bit of useful information."

"What is it?" Scott asked hurriedly.

"Team Plus' new leader. His name is Wade Wilson, codename: Deadpool. On my last day with access to the Weapon Plus files, I looked him up. He teleports utilizing experimental technology of his own creation. It's incredibly efficient and it never fails. Unfortunately for him, there's one problem: he can only teleport about ten to fifteen miles away."

The look around the room was one of sudden realization. We had a lead.

"We don't know that Weapon Plus is within that range." Professor Xavier told me. I think he could tell that he thought I was leading everyone to that conclusion.

"Obviously. However, Colcord is notoriously picky. He won't travel in something that isn't first class, unmarked, bulletproof, and owned by either Plus or the military."

"How do you know that?" Bobby asked.

"The man rarely leaves his office, preferring to speak via intercom. The guards in the facility always joked that it was because when he was younger, he was attacked while working at a Weapon X facility. Well, there's not a whole lot of information on him. However, I did find one thing."

"Weapon X?" Logan asked.

"Not just a Weapon X. _The _Weapon X, Logan. Colcord worked at the Alberta facility that you escaped from. Apparently during your escape, you clawed him across the face. Since then, no one that knows him has seen him without sunglasses on. This embarrassment has apparently led to a kind of paranoia. He rarely, if ever, meets with anyone face-to-face, preferring to stay behind his intercom. He travels alone but with huge numbers of guards. While I don't know for a fact that he would have to pick something military, knowing his characteristics, it only makes sense that his paranoia would lead him to trust no one but himself and bulletproof glass."

Scott stood up and walked to the front of the room. As he did, he stuck out his hand. I took it, not sure why, and shook his hand.

"That's some of the best detective analysis I've ever seen."

"I was an Army Ranger." I said quickly. "I basically ended up becoming a military detective."

"Let's put that to good use then." Professor Xavier said before turning around to a large map that he had just called up on his computer screen. "Now, where is there a military base within fifteen miles of here?"

"Officially, I don't think there is one." I replied.

"Unofficially?" Scott asked.

"When Team Plus was put on our first mission, we were sent to a small apartment in Danbury, CT. It's twelve miles away. I guarantee that Colcord wouldn't let us get too far away from a place where he could keep tabs on us."

"How do you suggest we find the facility?"

"Well, our apartment was here." I said, pointing to a spot on the map of Danbury that Professor Xavier had called up. "I imagine that the facility would be within a certain radius but not so close to the apartment that we would have noticed it."

"Everyone take the next couple of days to relax." Scott said as he turned to the rest of the room. "Then, we're going to go make a visit to Danbury."

* * *

**9:00 AM**

After our meeting, it had taken me nearly thirty minutes to find him. Finally, all the way at the very back of the grounds, I found my father sitting on a bench underneath one of the larger trees in the property.

"It's a beautiful day." I said softly as I approached. I hadn't talked with my parents since they had been moved in. Again, I was afraid what my father might say.

"Yes." my father said stoically as I sat down beside him. Neither of us spoke for a couple minutes as we took in the beautiful early morning that the grounds of the Xavier Institute provided for us. "You know, it was amazing to watch United States military vehicles surround my house and order that I stay inside." my father said, almost with a growl. "They told me that if I tried to leave, I would be shot on sight."

"Da-"

"Don't." he snapped. "Then, I hear this sound. It sounds like the sky is being torn in two. It keeps getting closer. Suddenly, I see a man in a metal suit flying towards my house. I know who it is, but I can't believe that he would be so far out of the way. Then, it hits me, he's coming for me."

"He wasn't though." I replied softly.

"No. He wasn't. He landed in my front yard and told these troops to back off. Apparently, we were protected by SHIELD and The Avengers now and if anyone took a single shot at our house, they would be subject to life in prison."

As my father spoke, I didn't just listen, I also watched. I looked at the man in front of me and realized that he had aged immensely over the past few years. However, it had gotten worse just since when I had seen him a few weeks ago. He had been a prisoner in Vietnam for six years in the seventies and had both run black ops missions until 1995. How many miles had been put on this man? Then, to think that one of your sons, who had been one of the greatest young soldiers in the history of the United States armed forces, had been convicted of treason and then killed in a prison riot. However, not only was your son killed, you found out he was a mutant. Finally, to top it all off, you find out that son isn't dead. Instead, they've been coerced into working for a discrete government agency, which he had escaped from and now he was working for an elite mutant protection team.

Now that I thought about it, as much as I had been through, it had probably been worse for my family.

"After that, a super jet of some kind hovered over my house and a man calling himself Cyclops with some goofy visor repelled down from it and said that we were supposed to go with him. Naturally, I was skeptical." my father said, a hint of joking at the end. "Eventually, he convinced us it was best for us and we were lifted up into the plane. Now, this plane was unlike anything I had ever seen. Technology that shouldn't even exist was on it."

"The Blackbird is a beauty." I said with a smile.

"You're telling me." he replied shortly. "I just want to know one thing."

"What is it?"

"This whole Registration thing with Captain America and Stark. Which side are you on?"

"Which side do you want me to be on?" I asked him cryptically.

"Personally, I would feel safer if all of the heroes out there were registered. Guys like Spider-Man and Daredevil shouldn't get to do whatever they want whenever they want."

"Well, I would disagree." I replied, publicly voicing my opinion on the matter for the first time. "I don't think that the United States government should ever get the right to tell me who I should be fighting. If the SRA were unilaterally imposed, anytime a country opposes us, The Avengers would become soldiers on the front line of a political battle that no one will win."

"So you're joining the Secret Avengers?" he said, referring to the name of Captain America's resistance.

"No, although the offer would be on the table I imagine." I replied.

"Why not?"

"O." I said simply.

"She means that much to you?" my dad asked me.

"Yes." I admitted. "No, I'm not sure why. I know that she's wonderful. I know that she makes me feel great. She's a goofball and wise and powerful and open and fantastic and a thousand other things that I can't explain."

"You've only know her for a few weeks." he pointed out softly.

"I know. That's why I'm not sure about it still. But, I also know that's why I'm still here, giving it a chance."

"So your love life is more important that the welfare of everyone who is going to get caught up in this Super-powered Civil War?" he asked again, this time showing a little bit of the rage that had made him a great military man.

"I served my country!" I yelled back at him. "I did everything I was asked and more. I ignored the jeers I got because my father was the great Charles Arthur Hall and I worked harder than anyone did to ensure that any promotion I got, I got for myself and not because you were my father! I made my way through the ranks and when I had gotten farther faster than anyone, I was imprisoned for betraying the country that I had given everything to protect!"

"You later learned that it was the fault of a small part of the government." he replied, contrasting my anger with his newly found passive attitude. It was a favorite one of his mind games to play and I was falling right into his game.

"The government, nonetheless." I said, calming down considerably. I didn't want to play his games right now. "They fund a secret government program that utilizes mutants to hunt and kill mutants."

"You can think for a moment that most of the government officials knew of that."

"It doesn't matter. As long as the program is in operation, regardless of government backing, I will not support the United States government or its Superhuman Registration Act."

"Then, why don't you take up arms and fight? Fight the establishment?"

"Because I'm happy here. I have people here who care about me here. Cap only wants to us me as a foot soldier. These people are my family."

The moment I said this, I saw the look in my father's eyes and it surprised me. Instead of looking disappointed or upset, he looked happy.

"I'm glad you've found some semblance of peace in this crazy world. It took me years to find something like that."

"The peace won't last forever." I replied almost as an aside. "We're planning to take down Weapon Plus and I know that eventually, the X-Men will be forced to pick a side in this conflict or another."

"Well, I hope you can hold off on that for as long as you can."

"Me too...me too."

* * *

**11:47 PM**

After a long day of socializing with my family (all of them), I had snuck silently back to my room. Over the last month at Xavier's, I often found myself spending most of my time before bed staring out the window. So, it was late this evening that I found myself, in my chair, staring out over the balcony again.

While I told my father that I had found a sense of peace here at the Institute, I hadn't been completely honest. I still found myself longing for space, far away from the reach of others. I knew that my already present tendency to be a loner had been heightened by my government entrapment and subsequent imprisonment. I hoped that I was able to fall back into spending more time with the others, however currently it was difficult to spend more than a few hours with them. Not because I didn't like them, not because there was something wrong with them, but because there was something still wrong with me.

"What is it?" I said to no one. "What is it that still bothers me?"

Obviously, Dani's suspicious simulation and then her departure still concerned me. Which side was she really on? Was that the question that really bothered me? Was it even a question? Her reaction to the news that my family had been recovered seemed to change her answer. Or at least that's what it looked like before Wilson took off with her? Or did she let him take her?

I was lost. Lost in my own mind. All of these questions and no answers. That's all I could think of: no answers.

"No answers."

"You'll get them."

If I had been anyone else, I would have been shocked that there was someone watching me. Unfortunately, the spatial awareness of my ability allowed me to sense anyone that entered the room. In this case, it was Ororo, as I had expected.

"I'm not sure I will." I said without turning around.

"You will. You just have to be willing to work for them." she said as she walked up next to me and sat on the railing. She was wearing her sleep attire, a white T-shirt that had the bottom part of it cut off, exposing her bare midriff. The outfit was complete with a pair of black spandex shorts that would most commonly be used for volleyball. The outfit left nothing to the imagination.

"I would. I just don't know where to start." I replied, trying not to stare a her perfect chocolate skin.

"Well, what is your biggest concern?"

"Dani."

"What about her?"

"I am trying to accept the fact that I've lost her. I know that her presence at Weapon Plus was one of the only thing that kept me from going insane. She was like my little sister. I protected her and she kept me strong. Now, she's gone."

"That must be horrible." she said as she jumped off the railing and jumped into my lap. "How can I help?"

Help. What does that word even mean?

"I need you to stay with me tonight."

"Excuse me?" she asked in shock.

She was so beautiful. How could I ever have a chance with an angel like her?

"I'm not trying to get you to fuck with me, O."

What had I done to deserve such a horrible life? A life where my fiancee and unborn child die on the same day, where I'm sent to prison for doing exactly what I'm told, and a life where I'm in love with the most beautiful woman in the world.

"Well, then what are you trying to do?" she asked suspiciously.

What do I say?

"I need you, O."

"Excuse me?"

"This isn't like at my house where you came and stayed with me because sleeping in my dead brother's room would have been weird. I need you. Here. Tonight."

"Why? Why should I?"

"Because I love you."

Normally, the reaction to something unexpected like this is a stunned silence. However, Ororo was never one to be stunned or silent. Instead, she instantly hopped up from her perch on my lap and slapped me across the face.

"What?" she screamed at me. "You think you love me?"

"I don't _think _I love you. I _**know **_I love you!"

"How could you know you love me, Lance? I've only known you for a month."

"Stranger things have happened!"

"No! They haven't happened! Nothing has happened!"

"Yes, it has!"

Suddenly, I jumped up from my seat and threw my right arm behind her, pulling her in towards me. As I pulled her, I used my left hand to grab the back of her head to pull her into the most powerful kiss I had ever been apart of. As I did this, I knew what she would do. She would throw me off and slap me again and then run out of the room.

However, this isn't what she did. She threw her arms around me and pulled me in even closer, which personally I didn't think was possible. I felt myself melt into her and for a moment, we seemed to become one. I know it sounds cheesy but that's truly what it felt like.

Slowly, she pulled back and pressed her forehead against mine.

"Wow." she said breathlessly.

"Agreed."

"So what was that?"

"I kissed you." I said bluntly.

"No kidding."

"So what does that mean?"

"It means I'm staying the night." Ororo said before hopping into my bed. "No funny business."

"None." I said as I, too, crawled under the covers. "I love you."

"Ditto."


	18. Mach 6

**July 24, 2009**

**3:34 PM**

Ditto? Three days later and I was still thinking about it. She had let me kiss her like that but she didn't tell me that she loved me. Where does that put us? God, I hate this.

"Lance, you ready?" Scott said as he burst into my thoughts.

We were down in the garage, getting ready to go to Danbury. Our goal was to reverse spy on Weapon Plus. I was almost positive that he would move Dani, Malcolm, and Wilson into another apartment. However, I was also sure that there would be some clues in the old apartment. So, that was our first plan. Our group was an interesting one. Within the last week, Professor Xavier had moved the probationary class from probationary to active. I thought it was quite ironic that we were going on a mission to find someone who would have technically been an X-Man if she had stayed. Therefore, since Charles had graded this mission as relatively safe, he sent us with some new X-Men. Our group was Scott and Jean as team commanders, myself as the specialist, and Piotr, Cassidy, Logan, and Kitty. Charles thought it would be a good opportunity to get the new X-Men some field experience. I thought it was a good way to get us killed.

"Yeah, I'm ready." I said as I loaded up my bags into the back of the Chrysler 300 I was driving to Danbury. In order to lower suspicions in the area, we were traveling in a few broken groups. Scott and Jean were going together in Scott's Audi TT and were taking a long route to get there. Logan was going solo on his Harley and riding as fast as he could without getting pulled over. Piotr and I were riding in the 300 and going the speed limit as best we could. Banshee and Kitty were riding in a Honda Civic and were waiting to leave for another forty-five minutes.

The plan was to have a group arrive roughly every ten minutes in different parts of town and then scope that part of town out. The only exception was Piotr, Logan, and I. We would meet a couple blocks from the Weapon Plus apartment and then make our way in to search for clues. "Are you ready Piotr?"

"Da." he said thickly before getting into the passenger seat.

"Good." I replied quickly before turning to Logan. "Meet you there."

"Don't be late, kid."

With a nod, I dropped into the driver's seat of the luxury vehicle and started the engine. Breathing deeply, I reminded myself not to speed. We needed to time things up perfectly in order to look like we didn't belong together. Slowly, I pressed down on the gas and we were on our way. For nearly ten minutes, we sat in silence before Piotr spoke up.

"So, ve look for Hawk?" he asked with his thick Russian accent.

"I'm not sure." I replied honestly.

"Vhy?"

"She may have left us, she may have been taken. I'm still not sure one way or the other."

"Zat is a problem. How do ve deal vith her?"

"That's why you are here. You're the only one that can consistently match her if she transforms into a polar bear. Also, any claws or teeth that she may sprout wouldn't affect you."

"You mean she vouldn't be able to kill me vith zem?"

"Da." I said in return.

"Do you zink she vill try and kill us?"

"Honestly? Your guess is as good as mine."

* * *

After an hour of driving around, we finally pulled into a parking lot a few blocks from the apartment. It was exceedingly strange being back in Danbury. I had only been there for a few days the first time but I remember them as if they had been burned into my memory. My first days of freedom since being thrown away for the rest of youthful life. As we got out of the car, I instantly started to look around, quickly observing the people around me. Unfortunately, nothing looked suspicious.

"Hurry up, boys." I heard from behind us. We turned around to see Logan standing there in his Harley glory, glad in leather jacket and chaps complete with cowboy hat. It was quite a look. But, I knew that he was right. We needed to move quickly.

"Let's go." I said turning around and marching in the direction of the apartment.

"How do we go about entering this place without getting arresting or caught by Weapon Plus?" Logan asked me.

"There's a power box outside. We'll cut the power to the building. At the very least, there won't be video evidence of us breaking into the apartment. Once we get in, we're looking for transmitters, voice boxes, video cameras or anything that would transfer information of any kind back to Weapon Plus. We'll need to examine them and determine how far this stuff can be transmitted. I know for a fact that this information was going to the main Weapon Plus facility because Colcord could see and hear everything we were doing."

"How do ve know zat zere vill still be equipment in zere?"

"We don't." I admitted. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't. However, we need to shut down Weapon Plus permanently and this is the only lead we have."

"Let's just do this and get the hell out of here." Logan said as he pulled his earpiece out of his pocket and put in his ear as I did the same.

"Check." I said into a microphone that had been put on the edge of my jacket. "Scott, Jean, check."

_"Check."_ Jean replied.

_"Check."_

"Do we have eyes on?"

_"Kitty and Sean are located on the top of the building opposite the apartment. Scott and I are separating and moving to watch the two exits."_ Jean replied.

"ETA?"

_"I'll be there in two minutes." _Scott replied.

_"I'm in place." _Jean added.

"Wonderful. We should be coming into view now." I said as I looked up towards the top of one of the buildings in front of us. Sure enough, seated on top with a pair of binoculars was Sean and Kitty. I stopped in place and pretended to retie my show.

"Kitty, any movement inside?"

_"None that we can see."_

"Good." I said as I stood up and began walking again. A minute later, we were at the building. Slowly, I made my way down the alley next to the building where the power box was. I opened it and quickly flipped all the switches. "Lights?"

_"We're dark."_

"Let's go." Logan said before turning around rushing towards the building. Instantly, Piotr and I followed as fast as we could. We turned the corner and rushed into the building. Quickly, we ran up the stairs to the second floor where the apartment was. This was all so strange. I was back inside the building that had been my own personal halfway house. Logan pointed at the door to the apartment.

"This one?" he said softly as I nodded in confirmation. Instantly, he ran forward and extended one of his claws and put it in the lock. With a quick turn, the lock broke and we were inside. The place was still fully furnished and there was a blanket laying on the floor in the living room. Someone was still living here.

"Look around, but make it quick." I said before hitting my microphone. "Sean or Kitty, switch to thermal imaging. We need to know if someone is coming up the stairs."

_"Check." S_ean replied.

With the news that we were being watched, I began searching vents, closets, anything that I think would store a camera. Suddenly, an inspiration came to me. There was a theory that the center pixel of a TV was actually a camera that the government could turn on and watch and listen to you. While I didn't believe that to be normally true, I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to check. I turned to the TV, an old tube model and grabbed the crease in the plastic just behind the screen. With a tug, I broke the TV. Inside was a flat screen TV pressed into the frame with a video camera, microphone, and transmitter behind it.

"Check any TVs or Radios!" I screamed to everyone. "Break them open if you have to."

Literally seconds after I said that, I began to hear things smash as Logan and Piotr began destroying every electronic in the apartment. I was in the process of recovering the memory cards and the transmitter when someone called out over my earpiece.

_"Lance, get out! We have numerous unidentified bogeys running up the stairs from the basement!"_

The basement. They had obviously done something to mask their heat signature while they hid in the basement.

"Logan, Piotr, out here now!"

With a rush, the two other X-Men came out into the living room.

"Piotr, I need Colossus. Now."

With a nod, he instantly began transforming into the organic metal being that was his alter ego.

"Wolverine wouldn't be bad either." I said to Logan, noticing that he had already extended his claws.

"Way ahead o' ya, bub." he growled.

As they did that, I pulled out a pair of knives that were small and easy to conceal while still being incredibly lethal in my hands.

"Kitty, I need to know when they're right outside the door."

_"Now would be the time."_

As I finished putting the electronic equipment into the bag I had brought with me, I yelled to Colossus.

"Colossus, go!"

Instantly, the giant, metal Russian nodded and sprinted towards the door, slamming into it and breaking it down. Once he was through, Wolverine and I followed, various sharp weapons in hand. Once we were out in the hallway, we noticed that we were fighting against only six human soldiers. This fight wasn't even fair. With a flash, the three of us made quick work of the soldiers.

"Basement. Now." I ordered quickly as I took off down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs was a solid metal door. One look at Colossus and my intentions were easily transferred. He ran to the door and with one swift punch, the door was knocked clean off its hinges. Once we were sure that no one else was going to jump out at us, we walked in.

"Scott, bring everyone in. We found their base."

We definitely had. In front of us was a smorgasbord of technology and surveillance equipment. Cameras pointed on the outside of the building, inside the apartment, down the block. They had an entire two block radius on the screen in front of them. They knew we were coming. Just as that thought entered my mind, Jean and Scott ran into the room.

"Kitty and Sean are staying put to watch us." Scott said.

"We need to find out where these transmitters go and fast." I told him.

"Why?"

"Look at these screens." I said as I pointed around the room. "They knew we were coming. I imagine that someone at Weapon Plus HQ has already seen this. If they judge we're enough of a threat, they'll shut down the whole building and go into hiding and we'll lose Weapon Plus and Dani forever."

"Well, then let's get these back to Hank and he can analyze them." Scott said.

"Is there anyone in this building?" I said to Kitty across the street.

_"No. Why?" _

"This whole building is a Weapon Plus facility." I said, expressing my suspicions.

"How do you know?"

"Follow me." I said as I led them back up the stairs to the apartment across the way. Without wasting any time, I kicked the door in. Standing in the middle of the living room were three cut outs of people. "It's meant to look like people are here. A cheap alternative to having actual people living here and potentially notice a government agency operating in their building."

"So, what do you want to do?" Jean asked me.

"This is the only building on the block."

"What do you want to do?" Scott asked, angrily repeating Jean's question.

"I'm going to send a message." I said.

"What kind?"

Without answering him, I ran back upstairs to the original apartment and looked into the fridge. As I expected Malcolm lived there, and if Malcolm lived there, there would be alcohol. As I expected, there was three bottles of whiskey and a bottle of vodka.

"Anyone have a lighter?" I asked with an evil smile.

"Absolutely not!" Scott yelled at me.

"Scott, you are not Cyclops. Not right now. The authorities will get here before anyone gets hurt or any other building gets burned down." I said as I pulled the alcohol out of the fridge and threw it to Logan, Piotr, and Scott. "Pour it on the central walls. Don't bother with the furniture. The carpet will catch fire and we'll be fine."

Scott begrudgingly joined Logan and Piotr in pouring the alcohol on the walls. Once we had finished pouring out all of the alcohol, I grabbed a grill lighter from one of the kitchen drawers.

"Happy Birthday." I said as I lit the wall. Instantly, the wall was on fire and we quickly made our way out of the building. Once we were outside, we turned and looked at the building as smoke began billowing out of the windows. "Kitty and Sean, let's go. We need to get back to the Institute to get this stuff analyzed."

* * *

An hour later, after nearly racing back to Salem Center, we were situated in Hank's lab in the Sub-basement of the Institute as he worked through the technology that I had found. While Hank worked, we were busy getting chewed out by Professor Xavier.

"How could you burn down the building?" he yelled. "Now, they'll know that we were after them."

"They knew anyway." I replied shortly. "All the images we were seeing in those cameras were remotely uploading to their main base using a transmitter. Specifically the one that Hank is working on."

"That doesn't matter!" Charles said angrily.

Finally, the pent up anger that I had held in since he had started laying into me nearly twenty minutes ago came out.

"It's all that matters! Weapon Plus is all that matters!" I screamed, nearly shaking the walls of the lab. "Weapon Plus destroyed my life and Dani's life and if they aren't stopped, they'll destroy the life of every mutant on the planet!"

I noticed the group of X-Men that had come to the lab to help us with the equipment began to shift towards the wall, hoping that it would offer some protection from my wrath. Unfortunately for them, I didn't care about them. Not right now.

"The moment I found out where this information is being sent, I'm gone! I'll go there and you'll be lucky if the worst thing I'll do is burn it down! Who knows? Maybe I'll blow it up! Maybe I'll strap Colcord to a car and drag him through a parking lot! I have no idea what I'll do! All I know is that Weapon Plus is going down. Tonight. And anyone that stands in my way will regret it. Permanently." I added menacingly.

That last word echoed around the room as the X-Men stood in silence. Finally, Charles spoke up.

"We won't stand in your way. But we have to do this as a team."

Suddenly, the audacity of this comment set me off again.

"NO! We do this how **_I _**want it! This is **_MY _**mission! There's only one person here that might understand what I went through. The kind of brutal borderline torture they put me through during my training." I said before turning to Logan. "If you knew that Weapon X was active and you could go and destroy it, would you?"

"In a heartbeat." he replied firmly.

"I thought so!" I yelled before turning back to Xavier. "Like you told Stark and Fury, we are the X-Men anymore. Right now, we're a group of over-trained mutants who have the ability to take down the agency responsible for the deaths of many mutants and many more to come. I'm taking it down and I'm taking anyone who wants to go with me."

Suddenly, Hank spoke up.

"I hate to interrupt." he said calmly. "But I believe that I have found the root location of the signal."

Instantly, I jumped across the room and looked at the blinking light on the map of the world that Hank had projected in the middle of the screen.

"Where is it?" I asked breathlessly.

"Adak, AK." Hank said depressingly.

"How far?" I said shortly. I didn't seem capable of producing complete sentences.

"Well, Lance, it's at the far end of the Aleutian Islands."

"HOW FAR?"

"4,500 miles."

"How long would it take us to get there?" I asked Scott. "If we push the Blackbird as fast as it can go, how long will it take to get there?"

"The Blackbird is a modified SR-71 Blackbird. Originally, it flew at Mach 4. We've gotten it to about Mach 6, which is about 2,000m/s."

"Mach 6? Only experimental aircraft goes that fast." I said sharply.

"Well, we've experimented." Scott said with a sly smile. "Anyway, Mach 6 and 2,000m/s. That translates to roughly 4,500 MPH."

"So we could be there in an hour?"

"We need twenty minutes to suit up." Scott said as he nodded in confirmation.

"We have ten."

* * *

Twelve minutes later, every X-Man in the school had crammed inside the Blackbird, everyone wearing a specialized "G-Suit" that would help limit the G-force from traveling nearly an hour at Mach 6. Scott was finishing the briefing on how they were getting there before I was going to talk.

"...we are going to be traveling at speeds that you can't even imagine. We're going to be going well over a mile a second. So, everyone needs to strap themselves in and get ready to go."

With his safety speech done, he sat down next to Ororo in one of the pilot chairs. I noticed that O was looking right at me with a look that was somewhere between fear and pity. Unfortunately, I wasn't concerned with her or anyone else right now. I knew what I wanted and no one was going to stand in my way.

"In one hour, we will be at the main headquarters for Weapon Plus. Once we're there, we'll unload and go about destroying the building. While you guys are doing that, I will be hunting Colcord down. I understand if you aren't a killer or you don't want to hurt someone. Here's the deal: every SINGLE person that works in this facility hates us. They hate mutants so much that they created a program where they recruit a team of mutants whose job is to hunt and kill more mutants. So you do what you want but know that while you're knocking them to the ground, they're standing back up, pistol in hand, and they aim for the head."

"Is the Professor ok with this?" Rogue asked.

"Honestly, I don't care what he thinks about this." I answered honestly. I could tell that my rage was starting to get the best of me. I needed to cool it. I needed my weakness analysis ability to be at its best today and getting angry would just stop it. "We need to put Weapon Plus down and the best way to do it is to blow the fuckin' building up or tear it down or whatever the hell we need to do to destroy it."

I decided that this was all I needed to say so I sat back down in my seat in front of the navigation controls. Instantly, I heard Ororo's voice behind me.

"Jean, can you fly with Scott today?" she asked.

I can only assume the answer was yes because before I knew it, the two of them had switched places.

"What are you doing?" I asked her softly.

"No. What are you doing? You're going to get us all killed." she said angrily. "There's no way that we all get out of there alive."

"When we were loading up, I told everyone that if they didn't feel comfortable coming, they shouldn't have gotten on the plane. Do you know why they got on the plane?"

Ororo thought for a second before shaking her head.

"Because they know that I'm right. They know that someday Weapon Plus will be given complete control to do whatever they want and on that day, mutants will face their extinction event."

Ororo regarded me for a moment before nodding her head.

"I wouldn't lead us anywhere that I didn't think we could get back out of." I added.

"I know." she said softly. "I just want you to come back."

"I will." I said before Scott's voice rang over the cabin. "Ghost, skies clear?"

I checked the radar and the communications bay before replying in the affirmative.

"Cyclops, we are clear." I replied.

"Then let's get the hell out of here."

Slowly, the basketball courts above us began to separate and the Blackbird's hover engines slowly lifted us off of the ground. We rose higher and higher until eventually, we were completely clear of the school and anything in the yard. Cyclops slowly rotated the 'Bird to point us in the direction we needed to go.

"Brace yourself. We're in for a long hour." Cyclops said as he began to take us up into the sky.

"Why?" Iceman asked.

"Well, thankfully that suit that you're wearing will protect you from a lot of the problems associated with flying as fast as we are."

"But?" Wolverine said, sensing that there was more.

"You're still going to be slammed back into your seat when we hit the sound barrier and it's going to be very difficult for you to move for nearly an hour."

"Great." he growled.

"Alright, everyone. We're approaching Mach 1. Masks on!" Cyclops ordered.

Quickly, I grabbed my air mask and snapped it over my face. Then, in order to protect our eyes, both from the bright sun that we would get over the clouds and the G-force, we pulled a visor down over our eyes.

"Everyone ready?" Cyclops asked.

A chorus of affirmative answers rang out. We were ready.

"Good. Throwing down the throttle."

As he did, I felt the Bird immediately pick up speed. Then, in a moment, the whole cockpit rocked as we hit the sound barrier. Suddenly, Scott's voice came over the microphones in our ears.

_"We hit a smaller one of those each time we multiply the speed of sound. But other than that, we'll be good."_

This was it. We were on our way back to Weapon Plus.


	19. Weapon Plus II

After nearly a whole hour of silence and being uncomfortably pressed into our seats, Cyclops' voice rang over our earpieces.

_"I'm getting ready to start our descent which means I need to start slowing down. So, lean further back because when I slow down, your body is naturally going to try and come flying forward."_

I looked around and saw that everyone had somehow figured out how to push themselves further back. Personally, I was back as far as I could go. Suddenly, the pressure of flying at six times the speed of sound began to release as we quickly decelerated over the Weapon Plus facility area. Quickly, everyone unstrapped themselves, stood up, and removed their G-Suits, showing everyone's X-Man attire. People began to rapidly move towards the front to look out at the facility. I chose to stay in the back. I didn't need to see it before we got there.

"It's enormous." Storm whispered.

"You have no idea." I mumbled. Quickly, everyone turned around.

"What do you mean?" Jean asked.

"Well, most of it is underground." I replied quickly before Cyclops spoke up.

"Ghost, what kind of activity are we getting?"

A quick look at the scanners told an interesting story.

"Lots of thermal activity and motion and that thermal activity is hot." I said before checking the radios. "They're burning the place down. I just heard Colcord come over the radio and say that President Obama ordered the National Guard out here to shut this place down. We have to hurry." I said, turning back to the team. "They're destroying evidence."

"The same evidence that we were going to destroy?"

"Yes. But we were also going to destroy the people in charge with it." I reminded him. "If they destroy all evidence _and _get away, they'll just start a new facility somewhere else."

"OK." Cyclops replied as he pushed the 'Bird forward towards the facility. Within seconds, we were hovering a few hundred feet above the burning facility.

"I can hear the radio chatter. Colcord is still there." I told the rest of the X-Men. "Here's the plan: Colossus, Wolverine, and I will be dropped on the ground. We will clear a repelling area for Rogue, Jean, Banshee, and Angel. Cyclops, you will fly the ship up and out of an missile range and provide cover. Shoot down any helecopter or plane that tries to leave."

"What about me?" Storm asked.

"Getting there." I said with a smile. "Once the four repellers are down, you, Beast, and Iceman will make your way down. Storm, your job is to create the worst possible storm you can come up with and hold it for as long as you can. The other three will protect you."

"OK." she replied uncertainly.

"Get ready, everyone." I ordered as I grabbed Ororo and pulled her off to the side. "What's wrong?"

"I worried about you. More than anything, my power is influenced by my emotions."

"Then just ignore it all and focus on one thing."

"What?"

"This." I replied before leaning in to kiss her. As I felt our lips meet, I noticed a din come over the cabin of the aircraft. As we broke apart, I turned to everyone else. "What? Haven't you see people kiss before?"

A brief fit of laughter came over the X-Men as they relished the normalness of the situation. However, in just a few seconds, they heard an explosion before them and they realized the gravity of what they were about to do.

"Listen, everyone. This really is your last chance. Logan and I, we have healing powers. If we had to, the two of us could go down there and slowly take the place apart. However, that's not what this is about. This about showing the world that we aren't just mutants. We truly are heroes. Registration Act or not, we fight for what we believe in and we fight to protect everyone, mutant or human. We may not be allowed to call ourselves the X-Men right now but inside, we know that's exactly what we are. I know I've only been here for a short time. But, in that short amount of time, I've found people I love, people I can learn from, and friends that I can honestly call my family. I'm doing this, not just for me, but for all of us. As much as I would hate to go back down there, I couldn't stand it if I knew that Jubilee or Bobby or Ororo or Logan or any one of us was down there. It would kill me."

"Me too." Cyclops said as another explosion rang out in the silence.

"Let's go down there and show the world what the X-Men can do. What we, as both humans and mutants, are capable of. Wolverine and Colossus, you're with me!" I said before turning and hitting the button to lower the exit ramp. As it opened, the wind and the smell of fire rushed and hit me square in the face. Once the ramp was completely open, the three of us ran and jumped off.

We had been nearly three hundred feet off the ground when we jumped. As we fell, I watched as Colossus transformed from flesh and blood to fleshy metal. In unison, the three of us smashed into the ground, Wolverine and I howling in pain while Colossus simply stood and began protecting us while the two of us healed. I could feel that a lung had been punctured and my jaw and left leg had been broken. Thankfully, these were easy injuries for my body to heal and while it hurt like hell, I was up and ready to go in no time.

As I stood up, I withdrew my father's pistols and went to town, firing shots at anyone who even looked at me wrong. Suddenly, I was flashed back to my attack on FOB Rhino. However, the flashback only last for a second because I knew a few things. First, I'm not killing anyone who hasn't deserved it. Second, these people wouldn't hesistate to kill me in a second and finally, I'm not only here. A quick look around and I notice Colossus throwing three men as far as forty feet and Wolverine impaling oncomers left and right while taking a collection of bullets from his attackers.

So, without another thought of FOB Rhino, I continued my assault. I wasn't shooting to wound, I was definitely shooting to kill and I had no choice. The soldiers attacking us were wearing full body armor with the only opening being a plastic shield directly in front of their face. It was nice but wasn't bulletproof. Unfortunate for them, not for me. I fired all 20 round between my two M-29s before reloading. Thankfully, I had Beast make six more pairs of cylinders for my M-29s since I had gotten them. Now, instead of simply having 40 rounds to go into battle with, I had 160 preloaded rounds. Plus, if I did run out, I had a sword on my back ready to go. I was a killing machine.

With a couple minutes, the three of us cleared out enough of an area for the next group to come down.

"GO!" I yelled into my microphone.

Instantly, I looked up and saw Jean and Rogue repelling down with Banshee and Angel flying down with them to protect them until they got to the ground. Once they got to the ground, they were to hold this position for the next group while we took off. Thankfully, they were down in seconds.

"GO!" I yelled again in my microphone before looking up and seeing Storm standing on the entrance ramp.

_"I love you." _I mouthed to her.

Slowly, she nodded her head before jumping off the ramp and landing on the ground as I took off towards the facility. As we got closer, I noticed the weather getting much worse and I knew that Storm was doing good by her promise to think of me. In fact, as we approached the building, still killing everything in sight, I could hardly see where I was going because of the rain and wind and a few times, I was even lifted up by the wind itself. I wondered if that was her playing a joke or trying to help me along as we entered the building.

Once we were inside, I instantly directed Wolverine and Colossus to the very top of the building. I knew that Colcord's ego wouldn't allow him to have an office that wasn't at the very top of the building. I knew I was right when we got to the eighth floor out of twelve and suddenly there were lines of soldiers on every floor. We began to fight our way up, decimiating the lines of troops that tried to stop us. Finally, we reached the twelve and final floor to a surprise. It was only one room and obviously Colcord's office. A large mohagony desk lay directly in the middle of the room. The floor for most of it was glass, allowing him to look down directly on everyone else in the building. The far wall was covered in computer screens that covered every inch of the facility.

Instantly, I ran to the far wall and began searching for her. After my second pass of them, I heard a voice.

_"You won't find her."_

"Funny." I replied. "Where are you though? That's the real question, isn't it?"

_"It is." _

"You know what I think?"

_"What is it that you think you think, mutant?" _

"There's no way that this office is yours. It's too clean. For someone who directly oversees every single aspect of this operation, there's nothing here. Even if you secured it in a vault somewhere, there would be a pen somewhere."

Suddenly, I walked over to the desk and drew a finger across it. As I expected, dust.

"Dust on the desk? Definitely not yours?"

_"Very good." _e replied snidely. _"But you cannot find me."_

"Unfortunately for you. That's not true." I said before standing directly in the middle of the room and shooting the floor underneath me. As I fell, I prayed I was right. I knew I wouldn't die anyway but it would make the pain more worth it if I was right.

I was right.

As I hit the first floor, I fell straight through the one way mirror that was on the floor of the lobby. Unfortunately, there was still a floor to land on. As I hit, I felt my knee instantly come up and snap my jaw, breaking everything in both my leg and my head. This would take a little longer to heal. As I lay there and my body began to fix itself, I noticed that I definitely was not alone in the room.

I rolled over in pain to see Colcord standing in the corner of room in horror. Forcing myself to my feet while my body finished healing, I raised one of my pistols, aiming it directly at his head.

"You aren't going to want to do that."

I turned and saw Deadpool launching himself at me. In a flash, I pulled the sword out of its sheath. With a quick swipe, I met his sword.

"Calm down, Wilson." I mused before lifting my pistol and blasting him in the shoulder. From the information I got from Weapon Plus' database, I knew that his healing factor worked better if there were worse injuries. So rather than shooting him in the head where he would be back up in no time, I grazed him in the shoulder, enough to put him down in pain but not enough that it would heal quickly.

With Deadpool down, I turned back to Colcord.

"You're done, Colcord."

Suddenly, he seemed to gain his composure. He sat down at his desk, this one full of stuff, and began to work on his computer.

"I am. But, just because I'm done, that doesn't mean that I won't win."

"How can you say that you won't win?"

"Come in." he said to no one.

Suddenly, the door to his office opened and Dani walked in.

"Dani!" I said as I approached her before noticing that she had a gun in her hand. One identical to the ones that she had been using in the Danger Room.

"Dani, what is it?"

"Shut up!" she said as she pointed the gun right at my head. "Back up!"

Slowly, I did exactly what she said.

"You see, Mr. Hall." Colcord said smoothly. "I knew you were too much of a goody, goody to kill Wolverine. However, I knew that you would definitely be interested in joining them if I sent you there. So, the question was 'How do I get him to kill Weapon X and the X-men?' Do you want to know the answer?"

"Desperately." I answered mockingly.

"You don't give him a choice." he said roughly. Suddenly, a screen in the corner of the room turned on. It was showing video footage of the New Warriors episode that had started the Civil War. "Know this man?"

"Nitro." I replied quietly.

"We needed a way to kill the X-Men while not implicating Weapon Plus in any way. So, we created the Nitro Protocol. When we knew that you could absorb the abilities of other's blood, we procured a sample of Nitro's blood. While you were out with Howlett's blood, we put some of Nitro's blood in you."

"That's great." I replied angrily. "So I can make myself blow up. What is the big deal with that?"

"But, you forget the side effect of Howlett's abilities?"

"The rage?" I asked. For some reason, I was actually starting to get nervous.

"Bingo. The rage forces you to lose control of all of your other abilities."

"Then, how come I didn't blow up when I punched Malcolm?" I asked him.

"You didn't get far enough into the range for the ability to activate."

"So I just don't get angry. That's fairly simple."

Suddenly, Colcord burst into laughter.

"Do you have any idea the extent to which we've maniuplated your life? I was the reason that General Talbot gave you the bad equipment, I got you transferred to the Vault and then here, I intentionally put you with the X-Men, and I allowed your scientists to access the information inside that transmitter that you recovered."

"Why?"

"I wanted you to bring them here. I knew that I would probably be sacrificing myself. But to get rid of the X-Men? I would do anything. I would even kill a high school girl and switch her for a shape shifter."

"WHAT?"

Suddenly, Dani began to change. This time, however, it wasn't into an animal of any kind. Instead, it was into another person. A blue person.

"Mystique?"

"You really are foolish, X-Man." she said mockingly. "So willing to trust someone you've never met."

"The original plan was to train the three of you. However, when the extent of your ability came out, I decided I didn't need the other two. However, Malcolm made the right choice and agreed to help set you up. Dani, however, didn't. So, I had Deadpool cut her head off."

"Did I ever meet the real Dani?"

"No." Colcord said through an evil grin. "No. I knew that I wanted to get rid of the X-Men and so I contacted Magneto and asked if he knew of someone who could take over for her. However, we knew that if she was simply a shape-shifter, she would be suspected of being Mystique. So, we gave her a new drug that created new abilities in her. Like the ability to transform into animals and the ability to hide her scent from Wolverine."

"Oh my god." I said softly. I had been manipulated the whole time. Since the beginning, I had been worked over.

"That's not even the best of it. I couldn't seem to use my influence to get the last Supreme Court justice to vote in my favor. However, I know for a fact that he was a vehement mutant hater. So, under threat of violence, we were able to convince a mutant by the name of Elizabeth Braddock to force your brother to reveal your mutant genes and then kill himself. It really was great theater."

Suddenly, I felt a fire begin to burn inside me as anger radiated out of me.

"You worked with mutants to kill mutants?" I asked him. "Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose?"

"Oh, no. The X-Men aren't just any mutants. The X-Men are the greatest threat the world has ever seen. Mutants trained by former military personnel to help protect other mutants? How is that not going to end badly?"

My insides felt like they were on fire. I couldn't see his weaknesses anymore. I had lost control.

"Mr. Hall, you don't look very well." Colcord said mockingly.

Suddenly, I raised my pistol, leveled it at Mystique's head, and pulled the trigger. I saw the back of her head explod out and hit the wall behind her and instantly she fell to the ground in a heap.

"No, I don't feel very well." I growled as I threw his desk aside. I had never felt this kind of strength. "Now, tell me how to control this ability."

"I don't think I will."

"Then, I'll kill you!" I roared.

Suddenly, Wolverine and Colossus burst through the door and into the room.

"I'll die anyway." he replied softly. "At least this way, I know that I'll be responsible for the destruction of the X-Men."

"What is he talkin' about?"

"Nothing." I replied, trying to deal with the heat that I could feel inside me. "Wolverine, take care of him. Once your done, meet me back out at the 'Bird."

He nodded his head before grinning and turning back to Colcord. As I ran down the hallway, I heard Colcord's screams of pain and I knew that, if I died, at least he went painfully. As I ran outside, I noticed that Storm's maelstrom was still going smoothly. I sprinted for the repelling area and, sure enough, everyone was there and safe.

"Jean," I started through the pain. "Wolverine and Colossus, they'll come out in a few seconds. When they do, get everyone on the 'Bird."

Suddenly, I collapsed as I physically tried to repress the heat that was radiating out of my body. As I collapsed, so did the storm around me. Instantly, Storm was at my side.

"Lance, what's wrong?"

"They put some of Nitro's blood in my body." I grimaced. "When I get angry, Logan's berzerker rage activates it."

"What's going to happen?" she asked me.

I turned to her and in my anger and pain, I growled out the answer.

"You are all going to get on the plane and get the hell out of here and I'm going to blow up and I'm going to die."


	20. Boom!

Despite the explosions and shouts, there was silence when after I finished telling them of my fate. As Wolverine and Colossus came running out of the building to the shouts of soldiers, they slowed down as they approached me. I could tell by the look on their faces that they were confused. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to deal with confusion.

"What are ya doing?" Wolverine yelled. "We gotta move!"

"Cyclops." I said into my microphone.

_"Here."_

"We need a pick-up." I said before shutting off my microphone.

_"On my way down."_

"Did you take care of Colcord?" I asked.

"I had Colossus tie him up inside his desk. He'll be here when the National Guard arrives."

"Great." I replied in pain.

Suddenly, a rush of wind fell over us and I looked up to see the Blackbird hovering just a few yards above us. As I saw it, I turned to Jean.

"Do what I said." I growled as another wave of heat hit me. I could feel the ground beneath me beginning to burn and I knew that I had lost it. I was a goner.

"We can't leave you here." she said.

"Why would we leave him here?" Angel asked as he and Banshee landed next to us.

"Yeah." Wolverine said in agreement.

The pain was getting unbearable. I knew I needed to get them out of here before something really bad happened.

"Listen to me." I growled as I tried to stand back up. "Colcord pumped Nitro's blood into me. When I get angry and Logan's rage takes over, I lose the ability to control it."

Suddenly, as if to prove a point, a wave of heat erupted about me and knocked everyone but Colossus to the ground. As the wave exploded away from me, I fell back to the ground.

"What the hell was that?" Wolverine said as he stood up.

"Colcord let me know that he's been fucking with my life since I joined the military. Maybe even before. Plus, he told me that he convinced my brother to out me as a mutant and then kill him by getting another mutant to control his mind."

"That's pretty fucked up." Wolverine replied.

"Yeah." I replied as I saw the ground under my hands start to scorch. "Now, I'm going to blow. So, get the hell out of here."

_"What the hell are you guys doing down there?"_

"Alright, everyone, we're going." Jean said sadly before leading everyone to the entrance ramp. Cyclops lowered the vehicle even further so that everyone could jump up or be thrown onto the ramp. Storm turned and looked at me with a look of confusion.

"Go. Everything will be okay."

_"Ghost, what are you doing?"_

Instead of replying, I turned around and threw my microphone and earpiece to the ground. Slowly, I heard the jet take off and I turned and saw it take off. I stood in place as I watched it quickly take off into the distance. I stood there, frozen, until it disappeared over the horizon.

I turned and began to walk away as the pain of the heat began to engulf me. I knew that it was silly to fight it. I was going to die, I had accepted that. However, for some reason, I felt the need to hold on. I walked around the facility as it fell around me. Explosions echoed around me as I entered the lobby again. The hole in the floor from my entry was enormous. I slowly approached it and looked inside and sure enough, there he was. Colossus had done a wonderful job. No person on this island, myself included, would have been able to get him out of there if we had wanted to.

"Looking good, Colcord." I shouted down to him.

"Your mocking won't affect me, mutant." he roared at me. "I will win!"

"You're insane."

"Maybe. Thankfully, I will be responsible for the destruction of the X-Men!"

"No, you won't." I said with an evil grin. "You notice how I'm the only one here."

"There's no way they would leave you here."

"But, they did. They left me to die because I told them to."

"I don't believe you."

"Fine. Believe what you want, but when you go to whatever horrible hell you belong in, I hope you watch as the X-Men help save the world over and over again."

"I will watch with you next to me."

"That's fine with me." I said before turning around. "Goodbye."

Finally, I stepped back outside and began wandering again. The pain in my body was incredible, something that not even my healing factor was capable of controlling. For some unknown reason, I stopped and simply looked around. There was some strange beauty in the facility as the chain reaction of fires and explosions starting bringing large parts of the buildings.

Then, in a flash, the pain was blinding. I fell to the ground, weeping in pain. I don't know how long I simply laid there. Finally, I tried to stand up and walk again. I was so distracted by the pain that I didn't notice someone come up behind me.

"Lance!"

Suddenly, Ororo was there, hugging me furiously. I relished the last human contact I would receive. I also thought I would want to know when I was going to die. Unfortunately, that made this situation even harder.

"You're burning up." she said softly. As she spoke, I noticed Jean walking up from behind her.

"What are you two doing here?"

"I thought that between my telepathy and Ororo's close connection with you, we could bring you back out of your rage." Jean said calmly. The fact that both of them had walked back into what could only be called certain death meant a lot to me.

"It's worth a shot." I said quickly. "But, if it doesn't work, I want you to out of here as quickly as possible."

"Deal." Jean said before placing her hand on my head. Instantly, a calming sensation fell over me. However, it only lasted for a second. Then, the rage came back with a vengance, much worse than before. Before I knew what was going on, I was seeing a flash of images.

Jean first using her ability.

Jean meeting Professor Xavier.

Jean meeting Scott.

Jean and Scott's first kiss.

Jean meeting Wolverine.

Jean and Wolverine kissing.

Jean meeting me.

Jean with red eyes and on fire.

Then, in an instant, she was out of my head.

"How did you do that?" she asked me.

"I didn't do anything."

"It was like your rage took over my ability." she said warily.

"What was the last one?"

"I'm not sure. That's never happened to me." she replied.

"Weird." I said before another rush of energy hit me and knocked me back to the ground. However, this time, the pain didn't lessen or go away. Instead, it only began to build.

"Yo-you have-to-g-g-g-get out, O." I stuttered through the pain.

"Not gonna happen." she replied strongly. Her strength and determination made me both happy and sad at the same time. Happy that she was there for me, happy that she was still fighting for a lost cause. But, it made me sad to think of all that I would lose with her. All of the time that we may not get to spend together because of what was about to happen. That made me sad.

The pain was so bad that I could hardly move. I had no idea how I was holding back the power that I felt was going to explode out of me. I had no training in this ability. However, maybe since it had been part of my blood for so long, my only thought was that I could subconsciously control it. However, the thought of releasing control and allowing my body to take control worried me. Releasing control might mean releasing the energy and I wasn't going to do that until I absolutely couldn't control it anymore.

"Out." I said singularly. It was all I get say.

"No. I'm not leaving you." Ororo whispered softly into my ear as she held me tight. With as much effort as I could remember, I turned to Jean. "Out."

Jean leaned in and whispered into my ear.

"She won't leave you." she said softly. "She opened the hatch and jumped out. Luckily, I was able to get Angel to follow her here with me on his back."

"Out." I urged her. My brain felt like it was melting due to the pressure. I turned back to Ororo. "Please." I begged her. I could feel the tears streaming down my face. All I wanted was for her to be happy. I knew that I was gone.

Suddenly, the pain was gone. I was lucid. I wasn't sure what it meant, but I knew it couldn't be good.

"Ororo! Please, just get the hell out of here!" I said utilizing my strange strength to implore to her just how important this was to me. "I don't know how much more time I have left!"

"I'm not leaving you!" she said as she began to shed the same tears that I knew she saw on my face. "I can't leave you!"

Just as suddenly as the pain was gone, it was back again with a fury. I crumpled up in pain and fear as the pain engulfed me. It was all I knew. I could see Ororo. I saw her mouth move but no words came out. I watched as Jean tried to pull her back, but Ororo kept fighting, kept pushing closer to me. She pushed Jean away and said something to her. Suddenly, Jean turn and ran. I knew that that couldn't be good.

Ororo came close to me and laid on top of me. I felt the warmth of her body somehow through the warmth of mine. Then, just as the pain reached its peak, I heard a voice. I heard the most wonderful and most angelic voice. It would be wonderful for the last voice I would ever hear.

"I love you."

Then, everything went white and the pain was gone.

* * *

I woke up in the sub-basement of the Xavier Institute. I remembered this being a room directly next to Hank's lab, which meant that this was the infirmary. I looked around noticed that my vital signs appeared to be fine, based on what I remembered from health class. I tried to sit up but for some reason, my body didn't want to cooperate.

Suddenly, Hank came rolling into the room.

"Oh thank goodness you are awake." he said as he procededto check my vitals.

"How long have I been out?" I asked him slowly. My mouth didn't seem to want to work.

"A little over eight weeks." Hank replied. "However, we knew that it was just a matter of your mind catching up to your body."

"Well that's nice to know."

"Yes."

"What was wrong?"

"Well, the explosion left you with a large amounts of burns plus some residual damage when you hit the ground. Apparently, all three of you were thrown around quite a bit when we picked you up."

"How bad were the burns?"

"Almost entirely second degree with a few third degree. Thankfully, we were able to get you back here and into the burn tank that I've developed. Your skin will look different for awhile but if you keep using the burn tank, it will return to normal soon enough."

"That's great." I said in appreciation.

I turned and noticed a TV on in the corner. A mob was forming in front of a courthouse.

"What happened?"

"The Civil War was over quicker than we thought it would be. Captain America surrendered his forces after a bloody battle in the middle of New York with Iron Man. Thankfully for us, they've since repealed the Act."

"That's great. Now, we don't have to get involved." I said in relief.

"No kidding."

"However, Captain America traded amnesty for the rest of the rebels for himself."

"He's going to trial?" I asked in shock.

Hank nodded sadly.

"That's terrible."

Hank nodded again in agreement before we turned back and continued watching. Just as we turned, a black, unmarked vehicle pulled up to the courthouse. Instantly, I knew who it would be and sure enough, when the back door opened, Captain America clad in Old Glory stepped out. The moment he was out of the car, a rush of people that the security couldn't handle pressed towards him.

Suddenly, a shot rang out and the crowd scattered. In the mayhem, another shot rang out. This succeeded in scattering the crowd further and showing one of the most horrible things I had ever seen: Captain America lay flat and motionless on the steps of the courthouse, shield lay abandoned at his side. Medical officials would had been on hand already to deal with some small injuries that had come from some small fights that had erupted in the crowd prior to Captain America's arrival.

"Oh my stars and garters." Hank whispered.

"He's dead."

Even the words sounded dirty. Captain America can't be dead. It's not possible.

"This isn't happening."

"I'm just glad he's not awake to see this." Hank said before turning to the other person laying in the room.

It was Lance.

"He would have been horrified to see his idol killed on tv."

"How is he?" I asked slowly.

"Ororo, to be honest, we aren't sure. His brain is functioning normally and his body has healed up. We aren't sure why he isn't awake." Hank replied.

"Maybe his mind needs to catch up?"

"No. His brain activity is that of a person who's awake. His brain is fine and so is his body." Hank answered sadly.

"Then what's the problem?"

"It's not his brain. It's his mind."

**September 26, 2009**


	21. Epilogue, Part 1: Going Home

**Life is made up of years that mean nothing and moments that mean it all.**

I was seated in some strange circular room. The entire room was made of some kind of translucent material. You could see through it but it was definitely there. I was aware of the fact that I was alone. However, I didn't know where I was to be alone. Where was this place?

_It is simply a place in your mind._

How was it possible to be alone and have someone talking to you?

_You are not alone._

"How am I not alone? There's no one else in this room!"

Suddenly, as if the voice heard me, the room filled with people. Most of them I didn't recognize. However, the closest few I did. The first person that stepped up to me was Nick Long, my best friend from FOB Rhino. As he stepped up to me, he spoke. However, the voice wasn't his.

_"You are not alone." _he said, speaking in that voice that had been speaking to me. _"We have all become a part of you."_

It was in this moment that the faces of everyone else in the "room" were blurred. At the same time, Nick disappeared from sight and another person stepped forward. Toad.

**Life is but a dream for the dead.**

_"We are your experiences, your memories, and your dreams." _he said before performing the same trick that Nick had just done.

Suddenly, the voice spoke up again without a body.

_We must join you._

"How?"

As if to answer the question, Dani stepped forward. Before she spoke, she transformed into Mystique, her original form.

_"Come to terms with who you are."_

**I don't think you should die until you're ready. Until you've wrung out every last bit of living you can.**

"How do I do that?"

Then, the whole scene shifted.

Instead of being in that weird circular room, we had moved to a whole new place. While the last place was curious and new to me, this one was easily recognizable.

"Ironic, isn't it?"

That voice. No longer was the voice talking to me in that strange voice. Instead, this voice was incredibly familiar.

"Am I dead?" I asked.

"Technically?"

"Either way."

"No."

I turned around to see him standing there, two perfect legs. My brother looked great.

"God, I've missed you." I said to me.

**The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our separate ways, I to die, and you to live. Which of these two is better, only God knows.**

"Me too." he replied.

"I'm so sorry for what happened to you." I said.

"Forget about it. I should have known that you were only doing what you were doing because you thought it was the right thing."

"So what is this place?" I asked curiously.

He walked forward with a perfect gait and sat in the chair that I had occupied during the trial.

"This is the epicenter of you conscious. Here, you are both the most alive and the most dead. It's what allows me to be here."

"What's the other side like?" I asked him.

"Unfortunately, I cannot tell you something like that." he replied with a smile.

"Damn."

**The battle over flesh and blood cannot compare to the battle for the heart.**

"So what do I have to do?" I asked him.

"You have to accept what you've done." he replied simply. "You haven't done anything for yourself in your whole life. Everything you've done, you've done for someone else."

"What does that matter?"

My brother stood up and walked over to me. I hadn't noticed that I was sitting on the witness stand until right now.

"You feel bad for everything that's happened. That's understandable. However, if you're ever going to be able to go back, you have to forgive yourself."

"What happens when I do that?"

**There is no cure for birth and death, save to enjoy the interval.**

Suddenly, I was back in the little circular room and the voice was speaking to me again.

_You get to go home._

"Where's home?"

Then, just as the whole room went dark, I realized who the voice belonged to.

Me.

* * *

**December 24, 2009**

**9:44 AM**

"He's been out for five months, Ororo." Professor Xavier said. "He stopped breathing on his own three months ago. His brain patterns have slowed down to the point that he could legally be ruled a vegetable."

"I know, Professor." I said softly.

The conversation over the last few months had gone slowly from "we'll do everything we can to keep him alive" to "He's getting worse, but we'll keep trying" to "I don't know what to do" to the most recent "we need to pull the plug."

I knew that we needed to let him go. Either he would start breathing and his brain would start working on its own or it wouldn't. However, I just couldn't do it. I needed him alive.

"I can do it for you, 'Ro." Logan said softly. I noticed that he had really taken a liking to Lance during his time at the school. I imagine that it probably had something to do with their similar warrior personas.

"If there's anyone that is going to do it, it will be me." I replied stubbornly.

The whole team had gathered in the lab to be there when it was done. Lance's parents were also there. I had actually gotten very close to them over the past half year. They planned to leave today if I pulled the plug.

But, there lie the rub: I wasn't sure if I could actually pull the plug.

"Will someone say something?" I said as tears began to stream from my eyes.

Lance's father quickly stepped forward with a nod, indicating his willingness.

"I'm not particularly religious and neither was he." he started with a chuckle. "Regardless of that, my son was the best man I ever knew. He gave and gave until he couldn't give anymore. However, my son didn't just give for little reasons. He gave for things that were important to him. I think originally he gave to honor me. Then, he gave to honor his country. Then, while at Weapon Plus, he gave for his family. However, when he was here, I think he gave for the something that was, for the first time, truly personal. He gave because he loved each and every one of you and because he couldn't bear to lose you."

Finally, I came to the realization that it needed to be done. Lance needed to be let go.

"Thank you." I said to his date before turning back to Lance. "I don't know if you heard me. I don't know if you've heard me over these past few months. But, I'll tell you one more time for luck. I love you, Lance."

I reached down to the outlet that his feeding tube and ventilator were plugged into and pulled them both out of the wall. As I did, the ecG machine began to beep faster. Hank looked at the machine.

"His body is lacking oxygen already. He'll be gone in a matter of seconds."

The beeping continued to get faster. And faster. And faster. Then, just when you thought it would go flat, it stopped.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

"Hank, what happened?"

As I asked this question, I looked down and saw the impossible. His chest was moving.

"Is the ventilator still working?"

"No." Hank said in surprise.

Then, the most wonderful noise in the world rang out. He groaned.

"Oh my god." I said softly.

"Nope." he replied, his eyes still closed. "Just me."

In a flash, those gorgeous blue eyes opened and met mine.

"I hoped this was home."


	22. Epilogue, Part 2: 1 Year Later

**August 11, 2010**

**5:44 PM**

"You'll visit me, won't you?" Ororo said loudly as I finished packing her things up in the car.

"Ororo, you are 26 years old. It's not like you can't take care of yourself."

"Obviously." she replied sarcastically. "But, I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too." I replied. "Plus, you're barely three hours away. I'll come over on my spare weekends."

"As I remember, Assistant Headmasters don't have spare weekends."

In the two years since the destruction of Weapon Plus, a lot had changed. While rumors of a secret facility in Alaska that experimented on mutants have nearly disappeared, the results of its destruction haven't. New legislation that severely prosecuted people convicted of hate crimes against mutants were either on the books or in discussion in 35 of the 50 states. The death of Captain America had led to the repeal of the Registration Act. Also, The Red Skull, who had recruited a criminal known as Crossbones and brainwashed Cap's girlfriend and SHIELD Agent Sharon Carter into shooting Cap, was on the run. There was a movement by the man formerly known as the Green Goblin, Norman Osborn, to take over SHIELD after the Civil War forced Nick Fury into retirement. Thankfully, Tony Stark and Reed Richards were able to keep that from happening.

Cyclops and Jean had moved on from teaching, having taken over for Professor Xavier, who had opened another school with the help of Tony Stark in New York City. Professor Xavier still visited the original school frequently though and we were always happy to see him.

Another evolution in the X-Men team was the creation of a more secret force known as the X-Force. The team, led by Logan, was created for stealthy missions that we didn't particularly want anyone to know about. I participated in missions a few times with the X-Force. However, my new position as Assistant Headmaster of the Xavier Institute meant that I wasn't going to be able to do that anymore.

None of the X-Men that had been at the school two years ago had left. However, we had been joined by two new members. Kurt Wagner aka Nightcrawler had returned from his search for his family in Germany. He had been back from Europe for nearly ten months. Also, a new and mysterious young man named Remy LeBeau had joined the school nearly a year ago. Within the last six months, he had been able to use his kinetic energy power to join the X-Men under the codename Gambit.

The position had been left vacant due to Ororo's announcement four months ago that she planned on finishing her college degree and then go to law school at Harvard. Jean and Scott selected me over a few other candidates within the school and I couldn't have been happier. While I was happy for my new job and definitely happy for Ororo getting into such a great school as a registered mutant, I was sad for her to leave.

Our relationship had flourished over the two years and I could honestly say that she was the most important person in my life. To see her leave was definitely going to hurt. However, I knew that she would be back within a couple years and we would be able to continue our relationship.

"You seemed to get some." I fired back.

"I worked harder than you do." she replied.

It had been a strange few weeks as Ororo watched as I took the reins from her. The Assistant Headmaster of the Institute was largely responsible for the day-to-day activities of running the school and was an incredibly taxing job. However, it was one that I would relish and work very hard in.

"Whatever." I chuckled.

Finally, twenty minutes later, we finished getting the rest of her stuff into Scott's old Audi, which she was taking to school. Ororo went about the school, saying her goodbyes to various people. Finally, it was just the two of us out by the car.

"So what's the plan again?" I asked.

"Two years to finish my bachelor and one year for a law degree." she replied affirmatively.

"Good girl."

Suddenly, the time was here. I knew that I was holding her up and that she needed to go.

"God, I wish I could go with you." I told her.

"You're needed here." she replied. "I'll come back and visit."

"You better."

Then, she fell into me as I clutched her close, not wanting to let her go. I welcomed the warmth that her body gave off and held her a little longer than I normally would have. Finally, I let her go.

"I need to leave." she said with a tear.

"I know."

"I love you." she said softly.

"Ditto." I said jokingly.

"Not funny."

"I disagree." she said with a sad smile.

"I'm kidding. I love you." I said sweetly.

"I love you too." she said before getting another quick hug. Once she released me, she turned around and jumped into the car. Instantly, she turned the car on and with one final look towards me, stepped on the gas and took off down the driveway. I watched as she reached the end of the drive and then turned down the road. Within seconds, she was gone.

"She'll be back soon." my dad said as he walked up behind me.

"I know." I replied with difficulty. "I just can't imagine life without her."

"It's not without her. Just away from her."

"Good point."

* * *

_Wake up, Steve Rogers._

Suddenly, I was sitting upright. Where was I? Wherever it was, it was incredibly cold. In fact, it was ice. I stood up and looked around and noticed that there was ice in every direction.

"Who's there?"

The last I remember, I had been walking up the steps to the courthouse in New York City, prepared to face my "crimes." Then, there was one sharp pain followed by another. Then, there was nothing.

"Who's there?" I asked again, louder this time. My voice was tired. I could tell that it hadn't been used in awhile.

"WHO'S THERE?" I yelled this time.

_I am here, Captain Steven Rogers. _

"Who are you?"

_I am not a who, Captain. I am a what._

"What are you then?"

_I am a Phoenix, risen from the ash, and I am coming._


End file.
